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7 

6 



SOCIETY OF SONS OF THE REVOLUTION. 



GENERAL SOCIETY. 



At the Regular Triennial Meeting of the G-eneral 
Society of Sons of the Revolution, held in the City of 
New York, on Wednesday, the nineteenth day of April, 
A. D. 1893, there was received a communication from 
the Society of Sons of the Revolution in the State of 
Maryland, embodying the Report made to it by its 
Delegates to the Special Meeting of the General Society 
held February sixteenth, A. D. 1893, to consider the 
question of a proposed union of the Societies of Sons of 
the Revolution and of Sons of the American Revolution. 

On Motion, it was Ordered that the said Report be 
placed upon the files of the General Society and be by 



it printed and distributed to the members of the several 
State Societies. 

The following is the Report referred to: — 

By Order, 

James Mortimer Montgomery, 

General Secretary, 



Extract from Minutes of Annual Meeting of Society of 
Sons of the Bevolution in the State of Maryland^ 
held March 15th, 1893. 

"The President requested Mr. W. Hall Harris to make some 
report of the action taken by the Delegates of this Society to the 
Special Meeting of the General Society of Sons of the Revolution 
held February 16th, 1893, in New York City, for the purpose of 
receiving, considering and acting upon a Report from the Joint 
Committee of Conference theretofore appointed by the General 
Societies of Sons of the Revolution and of the Sons of the Amer- 
ican Revolution, to consider the question of a union of said 
Societies. 

" The Delegation reported that the meeting of the General 
Society had been largely attended, embracing representatives from 
nearly all the State Societies, had remained in session for some 
eight hours, had been most earnest and conscientious in its efforts 
to effectuate the recommendations of the Joint Committee of 
Conference, but had, throughout its deliberations, been actuated 
by a marked and unwavering determination that by no circum- 
stance should the qualifications of eligibility for membership be 
degraded from the high standard indicated by the form of Con- 
stitution proposed by said Conference Committee. 

"It then reviewed the proceedings of the meeting of the 
General Society in detail, showing with particularity the whole 
coui"8e of the debate and stating that the Report of the Conference 
Committee had been received by it, not * accepted,' as had been erro- 
neously stated, and that the following resolution had been adopted. 

(2) 



V "' Resolved ; That this body recommend the union of the Sons 

, of the Revolution and the Sons of the American Revolution, 

- and the adoption of the Constitution contained in said Report ' 

• (i. e. the Report of the Joint Committee of Conference.) 

HkT " This Resolution was transmitted to the General Society of the 

Sons of the American Revolution then in session in the same 

building and was shortly returned with the statement that it had, 

by that body, been adopted precisely as received. 

" Upon the receipt of this communication, the General Society 
proceeded to formulate, — what it naturally understood to be an 
essential prerequisite to any definite action on the part of the 
united Societies, — a plan by which a Committee on Credentials 
should be constituted to scrutinize the Application and Credentials 
of each member of every Society of the two organizations, in 
order that upon the formation of the proposed amalgamated Society 
it should be known to all, that it was composed of men whose 
eligibility measured up to the standard established, not by either 
of the previously existing Societies, but by that Constitution under 
which they would then claim to act : Such a plan was suggested 
by the following Recitals and Resolutions, which after full dis- 
cussion were adopted and transmitted to the Sister Society : 

" ' Whereas, the Sons of the Revolution in general meeting 
assembled have unanimously approved of the union of their Society 
and the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution : 

"'And Whei-eas, they do approve the adoption of the Constitu- 
tion recommended by the Committees of Conference of both 
Societies, dated December 22d, 1892, and have recommended the 
same for adoption : 

"'And Whereas, such Constitution so recommended provides, 
in Article Third thereof, qualifications for membership therein, 
therefore be it 

"'Resolved, that a Committee of Two be appointed by each 
General Society from among its members, with power to select a 
fifth member, who shall not belong to either Society, to which 
Committee shall be submitted a list of the different Societies of Sons 
of the Revolution and of the Sons of the American Revalution, 
together with a list of the active members and their residences, in 

(3) 



each of said State Societies, and also the credentials and applicaiions 
upon which each of said members was so admitted ; and be it 
further 

'' ' Resolved, That said Committee shall examine said credentials 
and applications, and shall erase from the list of membership in 
each of said Societies the name of any member, by whose creden- 
tials and application it would appear that he was not entitled to 
membership under the requirements of Article Third of said Con- 
stitution ; and be it further 

" 'Resolved, That a list of members so revised by such Committee 
shall be certified to the General Presidents of the Society of Sons 
of the Revolution and of the Sons of the American Revolution, 
and that upon the receipt thereof, such General Presidents shall 
call a Joint Meeting of both General Societies for the adoption of 
said Constitution and the election of Officers thereunder ; at which 
meeting each State Society shall be entitled to representation accord- 
ing to the provisions of Article Seven of said Constitution, but 
upon the actual basis of membership so certified by said Committee 
to said General Presidents ; and be it fui'ther 

" 'Resolved, That said Constitution, if approved at such meeting, 
together with the proceedings of this Conference or meeting, shall 
be submitted for final ratification to the various State Societies ; 
and be it further 

" 'Resolved, That this meeting do now adjourn to meet upon the 
call of the General Presidents, as herein provided.' 

" In a short time a Committee of the Society of the Sons of the 
American Revolution, headed by General Horace Porter, the 
President of that association, appeared before the meeting and 
stated that the action of the Society of Sons of the Revolution, set 
out in the Recitals and Resolutions just quoted, was * disapproved * 
by the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and further 
intimated that such action was not in strict accord with the Reso- 
lutions adopted at an earlier hour, inasmuch as having by such 
earlier Resolutions, ' adopted the Report of the Conference Com- 
mittee,' one of the recommendations of which provided for an 
immediate joint meeting of the two Societies, the adoption of the 
new Constitution and election of Officere, it was now incompetent 

(4) 



for the Society of Sons of the Revolution to depart in any par- 
ticular from the programme thus prescribed, 

*' In reply to this statement a Member called the attention of the 
Committee to the fact that the Resolution referred to did not, in 
terms or by implication, adopt the said Report or commit the Society 
of Sons of the Revolution to any such further proceedings as was 
claimed. 

" General Porter accepted the issue thus presented, but upon read- 
ing the original of said Resolutions, then in his own possession, was 
constrained to admit that the Society of the Sons of the American 
Revolution * had construed them to have a broader meaning than 
, upon careful reading they seemed to justify.' 

" The Society of Sons of the Revolution appointed, on the spot, 
a Special Committee to confer further with that headed by General 
Porter, in the effort to reach an agreement under which some form 
of a Committee on Credentials might be appointed, but it was 
found impossible to obtain the assent of the Sister Society to any 
form of such Committee or to any plan by which the matter of 
eligibility of members could in any manner be enquired into or 
certified; indeed that Society adjourned sine die before its Committee 
finally waited upon our Society and communicated its refusal to 
entertain any proposition looking to such enquiry and certification. 

" Just here is now the issue between the two Societies : Certain 
Members of that of the Sons of the American Revolution contend, 
in the public press and elsewhere, that the failure of the proposed 
union is chargeable to several causes, each one of which however 
they claim to constitute fault on the part of the Society of Sons of 
the Revolution ; for instance they allege, 

(1) " That such failure was due to the ' bad faith ' of the Society 
of Sons of the Revolution, in that having adopted the Report of 
the Conference Committee and the proposed Constitution, they 
then sought to evade the consequences of such action by the inter- 
position of a new and ' insulting ' prerequisite : It is apparent that 
this position is untenable, since it plainly appears from the Resolu- 
tions adopted unchanged by both Societies, that neither said Report 
nor Constitution were ever adopted by either Society, as was admit- 
ted by General Porter and his Committee, and as, in the case of 

(5) 



the proposed Constitution, was manifestly impossible, for the reason 
that its adoption could be had, not bj either Society alone, but only 
by the two when they should have united in joint session, and this 
is in fact the precise mode prescribed for such adoption by the 
second paragraph of the fourth recommendation of the Committee 
of Conference. 

"That a proposition to submit the credentials of each member 
of every Society to the examination of a Committee constituted by 
the Societies themselves, should be characterized as ' insulting ' is 
explicable upon no theory other than that of apprehension of the 
resnlts of such scrutiny and if so founded does grave injustice to 
some, if not to many, of the Stdte Societies of the Sons of the 
American Revolution, to which, as we telieve to be the case in our 
own State, such examination would be as welcome as to our own. 

(2) " Again it is said the »Society of Sons of the Revolution 
* prevented the union ' by failing to hold firmly the requirements 
of lineal descent and by inserting in the proposed Constitution 
a provision in favor of collaterals, in certain instances : 

" To this proposition it seems unnecessary to make further reply 
than merely to note that the proposed Constitution was prepared 
by a Joint Committee of both Societies and that, although not 
adopted by either of the General Societies, it was recommended 
by both in identically the same language; but it is submitted that 
the provision in the proposed Constitution relating to the admission 
of Collaterals is so carefully circumscribed as to present small 
danger of abuse and to render it objectionable in but moderate 
degree. 

(3) " Another charge and one upon which much argument is 
expended, is to the effect that the proposition for a Committee on 
Credentials was fatal to union, since it sought to deprive the State 
Societies of the exclusive right to judge of the qualifications of 
members and vested that authority in 'a central body.' 

" Whatever force might have attached to this objection had the 
State Societies been deprived of their individual rights after the 
adoption of a new Constitution, it scarcely applied to the then 
existing circumstances : The question was not how shall persons be 
admitted to membership under the new Constitution, but how shall 

(6) 



such new Constitution come into eifectual existence ? Oei'tainly, it 
could be created only by the act of persons who were qualified 
to form the new Association under the requirements prescribed 
by it. Unquestionably, no State Society had ever measured its 
members by this standard,{and it is equally indisputable that under 
the Constitutions of the existing Societies there was no tribunal 
competent to ascertain, not whether individuals were qualified to 
retain the membership they already held, but whether they were 
also possessed of those qualifications which were, by the proposed 
Constitution, made essential to the formation of a new Society 
under its provisions. And it is to be noted that the proposed 
Constitution, recommended by both Societies, while it provided in 
its Third and Fifth Articles for the original jurisdiction of the 
State Societies, had also reserved to the General Society a power to 
entertain and determine all questions affecting the qualification for 
membership in any State Society, upon their proper presentation. 
(Article 8.) 

" The position of the Sons of the Kevolution, on the other hand, 
is simply this : — When assembled in session of their General Society 
on February 16th, 1893, they received the Report of the Joint 
Committee of Conference ; adopted a Resolution to the effect that 
they were in favor of a union of the two Societies ; and another 
recommendation that the proposed form of Constitution be adopted. 

"Ascertaining that this action had met the approval of their 
Sister Society, by the adoption by it of said Resolution Hotidem 
verbis,' they proceeded to provide for the formation of a Com- 
mittee on Credentials to which should be submitted the qualifica- 
tions, under such proposed Constitution, of all who should claim a 
voice in its adoption and effectuation. 

"The necessity and propriety of such safeguard are equally 
apparent and no better guarantee of absolute good faith could have 
been devised than the provision that their own membership, as 
well as that of the Sister Society, should be submitted to a Com- 
mittee created by both, upon which each should have equal 
representation, and by the certification of which all should alike 
stand or fall. 

(7) 



" In conclusiou, the Delegation reported that throughout all the 
debates of this most important meeting of the General Society, the 
Delegates from the Society of Sons of the Revolution in the State 
of Maryland had with unswerving fidelity adhered to the proposi- 
tion that while clothed with authority to surrender the Charter of 
the Association which they represented, to a Society to be formed 
of " Sons of the Revolution,^' according to the standard prescribed 
by the proposed Constitution, they had yet deemed themselves 
bound in honor to reix)rt to this Society that they had so sur- 
rendered it to a new Society composed of persons demonstrated to 
be so qualified to bear that title, or to return that Charter to those 
who had entrusted its care to them,/<»' the wcmtof such demonsira- 
tion of qualiftcation. 

"And the Delegates asked that, having fully reported their 
action in the premises, their discharge of the trust confided to 
them receive the approval or the condemnation of this Society, 
according to its estimate of the fidelity with which the duties had 
been performed. 

" Dr. William Lee stated that he deemed it most fitting that, as 
a Member of the Maryland Society of the Sons of the American 
Revolution, as well as of this Society, he should move, as he did 
with great pleasure, that the thanks of this Society be extended 
to the Delegates who had just reported, for the wholly satisfactory 
manner in which they had discharged the duties of the office with 
which they had been clothed ; 

" And further, that this Society does now formally approve and 
endorse the action of its Delegates at the meeting of the General 
Society of Sons of the Revolution, held in New York City upon 
February 16th, 1893, and the action of the said General Society 
upon said date. 

" These Resolutions were greeted with applause and, being put 
to the vote, were unanimously adopted." 

By Order, 

ROBT. RIDDELL BROWN, 

Secretari/. 

Baltimore, April 5th, 1893. 

(8) 



^' 







GENERAL SOCIETY 



Sons of the Revolution, 



April 19th, 1895. 



GENERAL SOCIETY 



Sons of the Revolution. 



Excerpt of the Meeting held in Boston, 
April 19th, 189?. 

PRIZE ESSAYS, 

U. S. Naval Academy Competition. 

jiic ecttcins for Securing (gertificateg of iiftemberg t)tp, 

AND 

OFFICERS 

OF THE 

GENERAL AND STATE SOCIETIES, 

July 4th, 1895. 



JOHN HUBPHT A CO., PRINTBRS, 
BALTIMORE. 



Til© Soolfi^ 



EXCERPT OF MEETING 



Faneuil Hall, Boston, Mass., 



APRIL igth, 1895. 




I-Exi.NGTOx, April 19th, 1775. 



Sons of the Revolution. 



The Society met at Faneuil Hall, Bostou, April 19th, 1895, 
at 11.30 A. M. It was called to order by Colonel William L. 
Chase, Presideut of the Massachusetts Society, who opened the 
proceedings by saying : 



OPENING REMARKS OF COL. W. L. CHASE. 

It becomes my pleasant duty, in behalf of the Sons of the 
Revolution of this Commonwealth, to extend to the delegates to 
this Convention a hearty welcome to Massachusetts. You know 
our motto : " Ense petit placidara sub libertate quietem." Now 
that the victorious right hand has sheathed the sword, it is 
extended to you, one and all, in hearty good fellowship. Wel- 
come to Massachusetts. And welcome to Boston, whose motto 
still is our prayer : " Sicut patribus, sit Deus nobis," and if 
God is to us as he was to our Fathers, then indeed the lines 
will be fallen to us in pleasant places. I have the honor to 
present the Honorable President of the General Society, Governor 
Carroll. (Applause.) 

5 



Sons of the Mevolution. 



OPENING ADDBESS OP PRESIDENT JOHN LEE 
CARROLL. 

Gentlemen of the Society : — I am sure that the delegates to this 
meeting have heard with the sincerest pleasure the cordial welcome 
which has been extended to us by our Massachusetts friends and 
appreciate at their proper value the kindly words which have just 
been addressed to us by the President of the Massachusetts Society. 
In fact, we must feel that this is a proud day for us, to stand 
upon this spot which has been so aptly designated the " Cradle of 
American Liberty," and to hear from the descendants of those 
brave meu who were engaged in the first conflicts of those early 
days that after the lapse of one hundred and twenty years the 
memory of that gigantic conflict is still fresh and green, and that 
from one end to the other of this broad land the spirit of brother- 
hood was never higher or stronger than it is to-day in the hearts 
of the Sons of the Revolution. 

Gentlemen, I think we may well be proud of the progress and 
spirit of our Society, and before this meeting closes there will be 
laid before you the record of the number of States that are admitted 
to-day, and have been already admitted, and also the members of 
Societies. I think I may safely say that you will admit with me 
that there are several good and solid reasons for the success which 
we are proud of to-day. In the first place, gentlemen, we owe a 
great deal to the Committee on the organization of new Societies 
for their activity, their industry and their zeal, and they have 
already received the unanimous thanks of this Society, and to-day 
we feel that they are entitled to our continued confidence. But 
there is still another reason for our success. The community well 
knows, every community that knows anything about us, that no 
man can be enrolled as a member of this Society unless the record 
of his descent from Revolutionary ancestors is made absolutely 
clear (applause). The public know and feel that whatever differ- 
ences there may be on other points, there is no wavering or un- 
certainty about this, and that our pride is enlisted, one and all of 
us, in vouching for the correctness of the record of every man who 
is associated with us as a Son of the Revolution (applause). Why, 



Excerpt of Meeting. 7 

gentlemen, it is the corner-stone of our edifice. Once break that 
down, and the whole fabric will be crumbled to the ground. Now, 
may I ask, does not this inspire a feeling of confidence among 
those who wish to join our body, that, coming in among us, they 
feel sure that they stand on equal ground with the same blood 
that flows in their own veins? And now, another point for one 
moment. I do not believe that in any branch or chapter of our 
Society in any portion of this country, there has ever been a single 
individual man who has ever even been suspected of using or 
turning to his own personal ends any advantage of his position or 
what he may obtain as a member of the Sons of the Revolution 
(applause). It is well known that politics, religion, sectional 
feeling, jealousies of all kinds, are absolutely excluded from our 
deliberations (applause), and the one strong feeling of brotherhood, 
fraternal brotherhood, extends throughout the length and the 
breadth of the land (applause). 

Now, gentlemen, with these high sentiments inscribed upon our 
flag, may I not add, have we not a right to ask the aid and as- 
sistance of every man who reveres the memories of our Revolution 
to come and support us in the work which we are now doing. 
And now, as we go along and carry out the purposes of this 
meeting, which we now propose to do, I have only to say, in con- 
clusion, that I have an absolute faith that there is not a man 
among us who will be willing to lower for one moment, in the 
slightest degree, the high standards of which we are so justly proud 
and which have been the cause of our undoubted success (applause). 

Gentlemen, I take the liberty of organizing this meeting, which 
we will do, by suggesting and proposing that the Reverend Chap- 
lain of the Massachusetts Society favor us with a prayer. 

PEAYER OP REVEREND LEONARD K. STORRS, D. D., 

Chaplain of the Massachusetts Society. 

Let lis pray. Almighty God, the King of kings and Lord of 
lords, Who from Thy throne dost behold and govern all the nations 
of the world. We bless Thee for Thy mercy in giving us this 
good land in which we dwell. We adore Thee as the God Whom 
our Fathers trusted and by Whose goodness we have been preserved 



8 Sons of the Revolidion. 

from nmiiiibkl and great perils even unto this present time. In- 
spire our souls, we beseech Thee, with grateful love. Fill us with 
the abundance of Thy Holy Spirit, that we may be humble and 
watchful in prosperity, patient and steadfast in adversity, and 
always enjoy the blessed confidence of that people whose God is 
the Lord. Call to our remembrance all Thy great mercies of old 
and give us grace always to seek that righteousness which exalteth 
a nation, and avoid those sins which are the reproach of any people. 
Let Thy loving kindness and mercy be over and around us at this 
present time. Direct us in all our doings with Thy most gracious 
favor and further us with Thy continued help that in this and in 
all our works, begun, continued and ended in Thee, we may glorify 
Thy Holy Name and finally, by Thy mercy, obtain everlasting 
life. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 



The calling of the roll resulted as follows : 

John Lee Cakroll, General President. 
Garret Dorset Wall, Vroom, General Vice-President. 
.James Mortimer Montgomery, General Secretary. 
William Hall Harris, Assistant General Secretary. 
Richard McCall Cadwalader, General Treasurer. 



California. 

HOLDRIDGE OZRO COLLINP, JamES MoRTIMER MONTGOMERY. 

Connecticut. 

Louis J. Allen, Jesup Wakeman, 

Rev. N. Ellsworth Cornwall, Robert Peel Wakeman, 
William Freeman French, M. D. 

District of Columbia. 

Captain Daniel Morgan Taylor, U. S. A. 
Thomas Blagden, Cazenove G. Lee, 

Frank W. Hackett, Henry May. 

Illinois. 

Thomas Floyd-Jones, Samuel Clifford Payson, 

Arthur Leffingwell, Homer Wise. 



Excerpt of Meeting. 9 

Iowa. 

Henky Cadle. 

Kentucky. 

James Duane Livingston, Wilbur R. Smith. 

Maeyland. 

Thomas William Hall, Daniel Coit Oilman, LL. D., 

Henky Oliver Thompson, William Bowly Wilson, 

Ogden a. Kikklanu. 

M ASSACHUSETTS. 

William L. Chase, Clement K. Fay, 

Leonard K. Storrs, D. D., Francis Ellingwood Abbott, 

Rev. Edward Everett Hale, D. D., LL. D., Henry Dexter Wakren. 

Minnesota. 

RuKARD Hurd, Luther S. Gushing, 

Hazen .J. Burton. 

Missouri. 

Henry Cadle. 

New Hampshire. 

Rev. Henry E. Hovey, T. E. O. Marvin, 

Stephen Decatur, Harry Bouton Cjlley. 

New Jersey. 

Richard Fowler Stevens, A. Q. Garretson, 

Malcolm Macdonald, Frank Obadiah Briggs, 

Hugh Henderson Hamill, Edward Robert Walker, 

Poster Conarroe Griffith, Barker Gummere. 

New York. 

John Hone, Robert Lenox Belknap, 

Robert Olyphant, William Carpender, 

W. G. Dominick, T. E. V. Smith, 

Governeur Mather Smith, M. D., Frederick Augustus Guild, 
Col. George B. Sanford, U. S. A. 



10 Sons of the Revolidion. 



North Carolina. 

BoswoRTH Clipton Beckwith, Marshall De Lancey Haywood, 

George Bradburn Curtis. 



Ohio. 
Ralph Peters. 

Pennsylvania. 

Captain Richard Strader Collum, U. S. M. C, 
JosiAH Granville Leach, Grant Weideman, 

Charles Henry Jones, Ethan Allen Weaver. 

South Carolina. 

George W. Olney, Talbot Olyphant. 

Tennessee. 
Henry Hudson. 

West Virginia. 

Hon. John M. Hagans, Charles W. Brockunier, 

William F. Peterson, Samuel H. Brockunier. 

The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved. 

The President. Now, the next business in order will be the 
admission of new societies, so that they can take part in the pro- 
ceedings of the meeting. 

M?'. Hone (New York), Chairman of the Committee on Organi- 
zation. I will say that since our last annual meeting, eight States 
have organized. I take them as I have them here. 

In my office yesterday, I had two gentlemen. Judge Duke, and 
Mr. Cabell, who are organizing the Virginia Society. Their appli- 
cations have been received here. They have been approved by the 
General Secretary in time and they have simply had to have a 
meeting to organize, which they will do any moment. 



Excerpt of Meeting. 11 

Texas. Applications were returned to them approved, and they 
have since organized. The applications were returned on the 27th 
of February, 1895. 

State of Washington on the Pacific coast. Applications were 
returned about the 19th of February, or possibly a little later 
than that. 

Kentucky. January 26, organized. Kentucky is represented 
here to-day. 

Tennessee. Articles of incorporation were received on the 28th 
of November, 1894. Tennessee is represented here. 

The State of Montana. Applications were made and approved, 
and they have since organized, on the 23d of October, 1894, I 
think. Montana is not too far to send a delegate. 

South Carolina was organized last fall. It has delegates here, 
or the delegation is represented here to-day. 

Alabama, on the 16th of April, 1894. 

I think it shows, sir, that even in States where the other Society 
is supposed to have a very large foothold we have come in perfectly 
fresh, and we find no difficulty. We find a little preliminary diffi- 
culty, which would come to anybody making a new undertaking 
in any direction, but the moment that the object of the Society is 
understood and the organization begins, it just goes right straight 
along, as Mr. Cadle will tell you. Also, Illinois has gone right 
straight along. I feel very hopeful, sir, and I think we will have 
more States within a few months (applause). 

The President. The Chair will appoint the following committee 
on credentials to examine the credentials of the gentlemen who are 
appointed as delegates from the new Societies : Arthur Leffingwell 
of Illinois, Henry O. Thompson of Maryland, and Thomas Blagden 
of the District of Columbia Society. If these gentlemen will retire 
and examine the credentials of the Societies, they can be admitted 
at once on motion, so that they can take part in the proceedings. 

REPORT OP GENERAL SECRETARY. 

The President. The next business in order, gentlemen, is the 
report of the General Officers. It comes first in the report of the 
Secretary. 



12 



Sons of the Revohdion. 



Office of the General Secretary, 

50 Wall Street (Room 5), 

New York, April 16, 1895. 

The last Report of the General Society was submitted at its 
meeting held April 19th, 1894, at Annapolis, Maryland. 

The State Societies have increased their membership, which 
to-dav stands as follows : 



STATE. 


Number of 
Members 
on roll, 
April 19, 

1894. 


Since 
ailniitted. 


Loss by 

death since 

April 19, 

1894. 


Loss by 

Resign il- 

tion, etc., 

since April 

19, 1894. 


Total 
Member- 
ship, April 
1, 1895. 


Alabama 


12 
20 

38 

38 

185 

lio 

22 
37 

93 

224 

39 

55 

9 

90 

1,380 

22 

83 

739 

"9 


13 
26 

17 
23 
39 

"s 

80 
42 

19 

l\ 

104 

9 

14 

235 

<> 

47 

158 

42 

21 

"g 




2 
"2 

"i 

"3 
1 
1 

18 
1 
3 

8 


"5 

i 

"i 
3 

23 


25 


California 


46 


Colorado 


55 


Connecticut 


58 


District of Columbia 


217 
19 


Georgia 


115 


Illinois 


102 


Iowa 


78 


Kentucky 


15 


Maryland 


108 


Massachusetts 


302 


Minnesota 


65 


Missouri 


159 


New Hampshire 


18 


New Jersey 


104 


New York 


1,574 


North Carolina 


27 


Ohio 


127 


Pennsylvania 


889 


South Carolina 


42 


Tennessee 


21 


Texas 


12 


West Virginia 


15 


Washington 


10 






Total 


3,205 


1,007 


43 
G 


33 

a in for Yea 


4,203 




3,205 
r, 998 



Total number of Insignia issued to date, 1,855 
Total number issued to April 19, 1894, 1,504 

Gain, 351 



Excei'pt of Meeting, 13 

DuriDg the past year most satisfactory progress has been made, 
not only in the enlargement of the General Society by the formation 
of additional State organizations, bnt in the earnest and patriotic 
spirit which has everywhere been manifested, and in the steadfast 
determination to hold high the standard of eligibility to membership. 

The importance of a publication by the Government of the 
Archives of the Revolution has long been manifest, and it is grati- 
fying to report that Congress has taken action in the matter, from 
which it is hoped valuable results will speedily be attained. 

The Committee on Organization of New Societies, under the 
chairmanship of Mr. John Hone, has accomplished most valuable 
work, the number of State Societies added to the roll being con- 
siderable, and their organization having been perfected upon the, 
most careful basis. The following State Societies have been 
organized, or are in process of formation, since the last meeting of 
the General Society' : Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, Mon- 
tana, North Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, Texas and 
Alabama. 

The Reports of the diiferent State Societies show the progress 
which has been made by them in various lines, including the 
successful offer of Prize Medals lor Essays by Scholars in the 
Public Schools upon subjects calculated to stimulate research and 
interest in matters relating to the Revolution, its causes and results. 

Yours very respectfully, 

James Mortimer Montgomery, 

General Secretary. 

The President. Gentlemen, a motion is in order now to accept 
the report of the General Secretary. 

Mr. Hayicood (North Carolina). I move the report be received. 
The motion was seconded and adopted. 



REPORT OP THE GENERAL TREASURER. 

The President. The next business in order is the report of the 
General Treasurer. 

Mr. Cadwalader, General Treasurer, road the report, as follows : 



14 



Sons of the Revolution. 



Richard M. Cadwalader, General Treasurer, in account tvUh 
General Society, Sons of the Revolution. 

1894. Dr. 

Apr. 19th. Cash balance $254 49 

May 12th. Assessment, 1894, New York $687 50 

23cl. " " Pennsylvania 376 00 

1895. 

Jan. 17th. " " Maryland 45 50 

18th. " " Minnesota 20 00 

19th. " " N. Carolina 13 50 

" " " Georgia 55 00 

2l8t. " " Massachusetts Ill 50 

23d. " " New Jersey 45 50 

31st. Interest on deposit 10 24 

Feb. Ist. Assessment, 1894, Missouri 24 50 

4th. " " Iowa 20 60 

5th. " " N. Hampshire 5 50 

" " " Colorado 19 00 

6th. " " Dist. of Columbia 92 50 

9th. " " Connecticut 18 50 

23d. " « Ohio 41 50 

Mch.l3th. " " Illinois 17 50 

Apr, 10th. " " California 7 50 

1,611 74 

$1,866 23 

1894. Ck. 

May 1st. J. W. Jordan, postage, express, &c $24 02 

3d. Allen, Lane & Scott, printing Gen'l Treasur- 
er's Report 5 50 

" C. W. Kelsey, engrossing, General Secretary 34 32 

10th. Exchange Printing Co., printing, Gen'l Sec'ty 116 00 

12lh. S. Barr, type-writing, " " 2 20 

" Exchange Printing Co., printing, " " 1 75 

22d. W. B. Wilson, expenses at Annapolis 250 00 

2oth. Ames «fc Rollinson, Naval Acad. Certificates.. 15 00 

June 26th. Bailey, Banks & Biddle, Naval Acad. Medals.. 105 00 

July 9th. Jas. M. Montgomery, expenses 25 32 

23d. Exchange Printing Co., printing, Gen'l Sec'ty 9 97 

Aug. 7th. " " " " " " 9 00 

10th. C. H. Clayton & Co., letter-book, " « 1 75 

Sept. lOth. John Murphy «fe Co., printing directory 133 67 

" Exchange Printing Co., envelopes, General 

Secretary 12 50 

Oct. 11th. John Hone, Committee on Organization 36 60 

Nov. 12lh. Exchange Printing Co., Com. on Organization 26 25 

Dec. 26th. J. W. Jordan, postage and express 14 45 



Excerpt of Meeting. 15 

1895. Cb. 

Jan. 7th. Exchange Printing Co., printing, Gen'l Sect'y 25 10 

17th. Hist. Register Publishing Co., plates for flag.. 23 00 

Feb, 8th. S. V. Sykes, express, &c., Gen'l Sec'ty 8 30 

13th. Exchange Printing Co., printing, Gen'l Sec'ty 74 29 

Mch. 2d. E. Carroll, Jr., & Co.. copying, " " 4 30 

22d. E. Bierstadt, photograph and map 6 00 

27th. Down-Town Mailing Agency, Com. on Organi- 
zation 18 48 

Apr. 2d. S. V. Sykes, postage, <&c., Gen'l Sect'y 28 36 

8th. A. Ritterhoff, engraving, " " 57 90 

" Exchange Printing Co., printing,Gen'l Sec'ty 105 40 

13th. Wm. A. Witherup, clerk, Gen'l Treasurer... 25 00 

" Henry Cadle, expense 63 00 

15th. Bailey, Banks &Biddle, stationery, Gen. Sec'y 224 .SO 

$1,486 73 

Cash balance 379 50 

$1,866 23 
Richard M. CAcwAiiADER, 

General Treasurer. 
April igtb, 1895. 

Mr. Cadwalader (General Treasurer). Mr. President, I move 
that the Report be accepted and ask that an Auditing Committee 
be appointed and the assessment for the coming year be reported. 

The President. At the request of the General Treasurer, gentle- 
men, the Chair will appoint the following Committee to audit this 
Report and report the result of their examination at the next 
meeting : Henry Dexter Warren of Massachusetts, Rukard Hurd 
of Minnesota, Holdridge Ozro Collins of California ; that is, three 
gentlemen. 

HEPOBT OP GENERAL REGISTRAR. 

The President. The next is the Report of the Registrar. 

Office of the General Registrar, 
1300 Locust Street, 

Philadelphia, April Idth, 1895. 

James Mortimer Montgomery, Esq., 

General Seci'etai'y Sons of the Revolution : 

Dear Sir : — I have the honor to report that there are on file 
in this office, the Duplicate Applications of Membership of the 
following State Societies. 



16 Sons of the Revolution. 

New York, California, North Carolina, 

Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Hampshire, 

Maryland, Illinois, Texas. 

New Jersey, Minnesota, 

A jiersonal examination of all of the Duplicates on file, warrants 
the expression of my opinion, that every constitutional requirement 
of military, naval or civil service of a hereditary ancestor has been 
complied with, and that the State Societies have exercised the 
utmost care in the admission of members. In this connection, I 
would especially commend the Maryland Society Duplicates for 
their fullness of details and authentication of claims. 

The preservation and arrangement for ready reference of these 
valuable docinnents is an important consideration. At present 
they are arranged in portfolios, and I would again renew my 
recommendation, that they be bound, by States, and properly 
indexed. 

I have the honor to be, 

Yours very truly, 

John Woolf Jordan, 

General Registrar. 

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 

2%€ President. The next business in order, gentlemen, is the 
report on the amendments to the Constitution that were authorized 
last year. 

Mr. Harris (Assistant General Secretary). Mr. President, in 
obedience to the direction of the Society at its meeting held in 
April, 1894, the Assistant General Secretary sent to the Secretary 
of each existing State Society, under date of July 13th, 1894, a 
letter calling his attention to the action had by the Society, inclosing 
a copy of the proposed amendment and asking that he would have 
action taken by the State Society and report to the General Society 
in time for this meeting. All the Societies have not reported, but 
a very large majority of them have done so and they have, without 
any exception, reported that tiieir respective Societies were unani- 
mously in favor of the proposed amendments to the Constitution 
creating the offices of Second General Vice-President, General 



Excerpt of Meeting. 17 

Registrar and General Historian. I have the package of certifi- 
cates here, sir, but I suppose it is scarcely necessary to read them. 
Action was deferred. 



REPOBTS OP STATE SOCIETIES. 

The President. The next business in order is the reports of the 
State Societies, which are simply to be read by their title and 
referred to the Secretary for printing. 

Mr. Harris (Assistant General Secretary). The reports, sir, 
which have been received are sixteen in number. Taking them at 
haphazard as to their sequence, they are from the States of Ten- 
nessee, Connecticut, New York, Missouri, Minnesota, Georgia, 
Illinois, The District of Columbia, Ohio, Massachusetts, Pennsyl- 
vania, Maryland, North Dakota (which is not a complete report 
and the organization has not been approved), Iowa, Colorado, and 
North Carolina. 



THE ORGANIZATION OP CHAPTERS. 

The President. Gentlemen, the Secretary will now read a letter 
from the Montana Society in reference to forming Chapters in the 
different states. 

Great Falls, April 13, 1895. 

James Mortimer Montgomery, 

General Secretary Sons of the Revolution : 

Dear Sir: — Will you kindly advise whether the organization 
of divisions or branches of the State Sons of the Revolution would 
meet the approval of the General Society. There is no law in the 
Constitution forbidding this, but we desire to take no action not 
satisfactory to it. Our city is nearly in the centre of the state, but 
our sister city, Butte, is some 200 miles south of us, and as mileage 
on Railroad is five cents per mile this means about $20.00 fare per 
cap. to say nothing of other expenses, to attend any meeting of a 
social or business character outside of the annual meeting February 
22nd. Butte City and vicinity have a large number of good men 
who are eligible to membership, and it is my judgment that they 
2 



18 Sons of the Revolution. 

could organize a division that would greatly increase the member- 
ship of the State Society. They would be able to meet in social 
concourse, give banquets, celebrate any day of historical interest, 
&c., and thus feel that they were a part of the Society and thereby 
build up a membership and increase interest in the work. When 
you consider that our state has 146,080 square miles, and is larger 
than New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, 
Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania combined, you will 
appreciate the difficulty of otherwise extending the work over the 
whole state. If this plan has been adopted in any other state we 
should be pleased to learn the plan of organization. Of course it 
is understood that such branches if allowed would be subordinate 
to and a part of the State Society. I should be gratified to hear 

from you. 

Respectfully, 

Charles H. Benton, 

President Montana Society. 

Mr. Leach (Pennsylvania). Mr. Chairman, it might be well for 
me to mention what has occurred in Pennsylvania in connection 
with this matter of this letter. Our constitution does not permit 
of the organization of chapters. We simply have our State So- 
ciety. The same desire manifested itself in Pennsylvania, of having 
in different parts of the state some organization. In Pittsburg, 
for instance, the men said, "We cannot come on to your banquet 
or your annual meeting, and we would like to have some sort of an 
organization." It was the same way in Wilkesbarre. So we have 
said to them there, "We cannot authorize any chapters to be 
formed, as a State Society, but you can gather together in Pitts- 
burg and in the surrounding counties there, if you want to, and 
form a little organization among those members of the Society in 
Pennsylvania, the General Society, and then organize amongst 
yourselves what you please." And so in two or three places, I 
think in three parts of the state, they have done that. It is not 
recognized officially, by the State Society. They simply have a 
gathering among themselves, etc., and meet for social purposes, but 
they are members of the State Society. I think, under our consti- 



Excerpt of Meeting. 19 

tution, that it is the only thing that can be done. It is practically 
a chapter, but not so called. 

Mr. Jones (Pennsylvania). These gentlemen understand this 
matter perfectly. They seem to have a greater regard for the 
Constitution than we seem to have. They have said they have no 
rights, but simply out of deference to the General Society they ask 
our views as to whether they can assemble in this way. In my 
judgment, there is only one way of disposing of it. They under- 
stand it themselves better than we do, apparently, because they 
have said, "We know we cannot organize them, but still, if we 
do act in this informal way, we would like to know whether the 
General Society has any objection." Now, it seems to me, I would 
like to amend that motion by saying that it is a matter which is 
left entirely to the State Societies, subject to the provisions of the 
constitution of the General Society. 

The President. Well, gentlemen, that is the motion that is 
moved and seconded, that the Secretary inform these Societies that 
the appointment of chapters in the States is a matter for their own 
management, subject, of course, to the provisions of the General 
Constitution. Those in favor of the adoption will say aye, those 
opposed no. It is a vote, and the motion is adopted. 

Mr. Cadle (Missouri). Mr. President, this matter of local 
chapters is a matter of some importance to us in Missouri, and I 
think that it is due to the State Societies where they desire these 
chapters, to acquaint them and give them all the information 
possible. We have found in Missouri that the organization of 
local chapters has been very beneficial to our State Society, as an 
auxiliary to it, and without any authority from the General Society, 
taking in view the good of the General Society and our State So- 
ciety, we took it upon ourselves without any authority, we assumed 
the matter, so to speak, to give permission to certain gentlemen in 
our State to organize a local chapter. We, at our last business 
meeting, authorized any twelve gentlemen in the State of Missouri, 
who were members of our state organization, that desired to have 
a local chapter to organize the same, with a President, Vice-Presi- 
dent, a Secretary, and a board of six members to belong to the 
local chapter. We require that the applicant must be a member 
in good standing of the Missouri Society, or any other Society of 



20 Sons of the MevoliUion. 

the Sons of the Revolution, furnishing a certificate from some 
proper State Secretary. We have in Kansas City, where our local 
chapter is located, gentlemen, who are members of the Massachusetts 
Society, I think possibly some from Pennsylvania, though I am 
not positive about that. At any rate, they belong to three or four 
different societies and on their furnishing a certificate from the 
State Secretary our local chapter there has admitted them. From 
twelve members, organized three months ago, they have grown to 
twenty-five, with a prospect of another twenty-five in the next two 
months. So I say that it has proven very beneficial in our State 
and I think that in any of the large States, where they have a 
territory which is from two to three hundred miles square, the 
cities located in opposite directions, it will be very beneficial to 
them to allow them to organize these local chapters. I think that 
some instruction ought to be given to State Societies, that wherever 
any twelve gentlemen, members in good standing of the Sons of 
the Revolution, desire to organize a local chapter, they be granted 
permission, subject, of course, their laws, their by-laws, to the 
supervision of the State Society. 

The President. The Chair understands that the sense of the 
meeting has been taken on that, that it is a matter for the State 
Societies to have a right to determine, subject, of course, to the 
General Constitution of the Societv. 



REPORT OP THE COMMITTEE ON CREDENTIALS. 

Mr. LeffingweU (Illinois). 

Boston, Mass., A'pril 19<A, 1895. 

The Committee on Credentials report that the credentials of the 
delegates from Tennessee, South Carolina and Kentucky, have 
been examined and found correct, and the applications of these 
States, as well as those of Alabama, Montana, Texas and Washing- 
ton, for admission to the General Society, are approved, and 
recommended to the Convention. 

A. Leffinqwell, 
Chairman Committee on Credentials. 



Excerpt of Meeting. 21 

The President, Well, gentlemen, the committee on credentials 
reports that the delegates from Tennessee, South Carolina, Ken- 
tucky, Alabama, Montana, Texas, and Washington, have been 
recommended for admission, and the motion has been made and 
seconded for their admission. The motion has been adopted, and 
the gentlemen, delegates from these States, are admitted as members 
of this Association. Tl:ie Chair congratulates these new States 
upon their admission into the General Society (applause). 

THE ORGANIZATION OP LOCAL CHAPTERS. 

Mr. Leach (Pennsylvania), Mr. President, referring to our 
resolution passed as to chapters in the different States and to the 
remarks of General Cadle, I made an inquiry of the General 
whether, in forming these chapters, it was required in his State 
that the men in the chapters should be members of the State So- 
ciety, and he said that it was, that was necessary, that they must 
be members of the State Society, in other words, that the State 
Society passed upon the credentials of these men and received the 
fees. It is quite important that that fact should be known to the 
gentlemen from the other States, so that they may follow in the 
same line with the Chapters. It is quite important that the State 
Societies should retain control of the election of men and pass upon 
the applications. 

The President. I fancy that they understand that; that they 
have a right to do that. 

The President. The Auditing Committee will now proceed to 
report. 

Mr. Hurd (Minnesota). The Auditing Committee have verified 
the account of the General Treasurer and find it correct. 

We have audited the account of Mr. Montgomery as read and 
find it correct. 

We recommend that the contribution of the State Societies for 
General Society expenses for the ensuing year be fixed at fifty cents 
per member. They further recommend that $1,000 of the Special 
Fund (Certificate Account) be placed in the hands of the General 
Treasurer to be invested in a Bond. 



22 Sons of the Revolution. 

QUALIFICATIONS FOB MEMBERSHIP. 

Mr. Belknap (New York). Mr. President : — 

Your Committee, to whom was referred the communication of 
March 13th, 1894, to the General Secretary of the Sons of the 
Revolution, beg leave to report : 

That the omission from the clause of the Constitution of the 
General Society with reference to the qualification of members of 
any specific dates, confines the limitation to services rendered during 
the War of the Revolution. In the case of the Constitution of 
the New York Society, the limitation is rendered more specific by 
reason of the insertion of the dates, the 19th day of April, 1775, 
to the 19th day of April, 1783, which are the dates generally 
accepted as covering the period of the Revolutionary War. 

While there are undoubted instances of patriots connected with 
the Congress of many of the Colonies or States having, before the 
19th day of April, 1775, expressed themselves both by word and 
action in a manner hostile to the Government of Great Britain, 
and who were prevented by death, prior to the 19th day of April, 
1775, from taking an active part in the subsequent Revolutionary 
struggle, yet your Committee are constrained to the conclusion that 
it is practically impossible at this day to decide as to what would 
have constituted, in the opinion of the British authorities, treason 
to that Government, in advance of the actual commencement of 
hostilities on the 19th of April, 1775. 

Your Committee, therefore, recommend that the General Society 
declare that the words ' War of the Revolution ' in the Constitu- 
tion of the General Society be understood to cover that period from 
the 19th day of April, 1775, to the 19th day of April, 1783. 

With reference to the other matter referred to your Committee, 
viz. : the Resolution of the District of Columbia Society, requesting 
" that the Constitution of the General Society be so amended as to 
permit the honorary membership in this (the District of Columbia 
Society) of the President and Vice President of the United States 
and the Ambassador of France : " 

Your Committee are of the opinion that, inasmuch as the funda- 
mental principle of membership is descent, it would create, in their 



Excerpt of Meeting. 23 

judgment, a dangerous precedent to permit an honorary membership 
independent of descent, even were it at the present time restricted 
to the distinguished officials named in the resolution. 

Your Committee therefore recommend that the communication 
of the District of Columbia Society be laid upon the table. 

All of which is respectfully submitted. 

Robert Lenox Belknap, Chairman, Committee. 

The President. Those in favor of the adoption of the motion 
will say aye ; those opposed, no. The ayes have it, the motion is 
adopted. Are there any other special committees? 



FLAG DAY. 

Mr. Leach (Pennsylvania). Mr. President, there is no other 
Committee to report that I know of. I would like to call the 
attention of the congress to a matter. About two years ago, a 
movement was begun in Philadelphia which had the support of 
our Society, that is, the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the 
Revolution, with the view of having the 14th day of June known 
as Flag Day in our annals and the American Flag displayed on 
that day from every home in the land. As all the members here 
know, it was on the 14th day of June, 1777, that the American 
Flag, our present American Flag, was adopted. That movement 
has had our hearty support, the Pennsylvania Society, and last year 
we sent out circular letters, I think, to the other State Societies. 
The movement has grown very much. But the day will not become 
what we would like to have it unless all of our Societies take this 
matter in hand and in advance, a mouth or six weeks in advance 
of each 14th day of June some steps are taken in the various States 
to call the attention of the public to it. We have our editors do 
it and take very many means of bringing it before the people. It 
was very widely celebrated, I think, the first year, a year ago last 
14th of June, but possibly not so widely celebrated last time. 
Now, I hope that all the members of the various Societies who are 
here will carry this home with them and through their Societies 
take some steps that will help to have that day known as Flag Day 



24 Sons of the Revolviion. 

and the American Flag displayed from every house. I ought to 
say, Mr. President, that it is quite important for our Society to take 
this matter up, inasmuch as a year ago — no, within the past year 
— a kindred Society of another name have claimed the credit of 
initiating this movement. The initiation of the movement belongs 
to the Sons of the Revolution (applause). 

Mr. Hagans (West Virginia). I understood the gentleman who 
has just taken his seat that it was the intention for the members 
of this body to carry home to their State Societies the idea of cele- 
brating the day of the anniversary of the adoption of our present 
flag. I want to say to him that the State Society of West Virginia 
at its last annual meeting passed a resolution that every member 
of the Society should on that day fling the banner to the breeze. 
He may ring bells and fire guns and shout for freedom, but in 
addition to those things we passed a strong resolution to the effect 
that on every 14th of June the gentlemen travelling in West Vir- 
ginia should be able to pick out some sire of '76 by the banner 
flung to the breeze in front of his house. 

STATUE OP JOHN PAUL JONES. 

Mr. Allen (Connecticut). Mr. President, I would like to ofi^er 
a motion that the General Society urge that Congress pass a bill 
that was introduced in the last Congress to erect a statue of John 
Paul Jones. It does not involve any expense at all. The Society 
has interested them in it and it has been prepared for the next 
Congress and undoubtedly will be introduced in the next Congress. 
I don't believe that they even know where he was buried, and I 
think it is a neglect that this Society ought to wipe out. 

Mr. Carpender (New York). I second the motion. 

The President. The Secretary will read it, please. 

Mr. Montgomery (General Secretary). (Reading.) Resolved, 
that the General Society, Sons of the Revolution, urge upon the 
next Congress the passage of a bill appropriating a suitable amount 
to erect at the National Capital a statue of John Paul Jones. 

Proposed by Louis J. Allen and seconded by Mr. Carpender. 

The President. How does the gentleman propose that it is to be 
urged upon Congress? 



Excerpt of Meeting. 25 

Mr. AUen (Connecticut). Well, I think it would be well to 
appoint a committee to send in a resolution and go there itself and 
get it passed. The bill will undoubtedly be introduced in the next 
Congress. I think it only wants us to be interested in it to get it 
passed. 

The Presidef)it. If the gentleman will add that asi part of his 
resolution, that the Chair appoint a Committee of a few persons. 

Mr. Allen (Connecticut). That a Committee of five be appointed. 

Mr. Livingston (Kentucky). The gentleman says it will be 
introduced into the next Congress. If you will send down into 
Kentucky, we will have a man. 

The Presidemt. Well, gentlemen, you have heard the resolution 
as suggested by the gentleman from Connecticut, that the Chair 
appoint a Committee of five gentlemen to urge U])on the next 
Congress the appropriation of a sum of money to erect a monument 
to Paul Jones. Those in favor of the adoption of that resolution 
will say aye ; those opposed, no. Tlie ayes have it, the resolution 
is adopted. The Chair will appoint this Committee at a later 
period. 

Chmmittee. 

Rear Admiral John Grimes Walker, U. S. N., District of Colum- 
bia Society, Chairman. 

Chief Engineer Louis J. Allen, U. S. N., New York Society. 
Captain Richard S. Collum, U. S. M. C, Pennsylvania Society. 
Ogden A. Kirkland, Maryland Society. 
Arthur B. Denney, Massachusetts Society. 

PUBLICATION OP A YEAB-BOOK. 

Mr. Livingston (Kentucky). Mr. President, I would like to 
introduce a resolution : 

That it is the sense of the General Society, Sons of the Revolu- 
tion, that they publish a year-book which shall contain within it 
the names of all those members who are members of the various 
State Societies of the Sons of the Revolution, showing their descent 
and their right to membership in this Society. 

In offering this resolution I would like to state that in a number 
of Societies, and particularly in Virginia and Kentucky, it is 



26 Sons of the Revolution. 

almost impossible for us to obtain any accurate information re- 
garding those men who fought in the Revolution. Now, sir, such 
information is in the hands of the General Society ; it is in the 
hands of various State Societies. Little Societies cannot afford to 
go to Washington and send a man there to look up these things ; 
but if it were in a handbook any one could turn to it. Relatives 
of men who are members of the New York, Pennsylvania, Wash- 
ington and Massachusetts Societies, who happen to be residing in 
other States, could find their ancestry quite complete and quite 
correct. It would be the means of increasing our Society. Many 
members who have gone away from the homes of our childhood 
and boyhood, youth, and gone into the West or the South, have 
left behind them all traces but recollections, simply recollections, 
and have no authorities as to their ancestries. Now, sir, I say to 
you that if this General Society should publish such a book it would 
be the means of strengthening our State Societies and increasing 
the General Society and accomplishing far greater good than each 
State Society can do by publishing its own annual year-book. For 
that reason, sir, I have the honor to present to you this on behalf 
of the delegates. 

Mr. Hurd (Minnesota). Minnesota seconds that. 

The Minnesota Society wished to introduce this last year, and I 
came prepared with that same resolution, and I desire to second 
that now. Here are several thousand names that have been 
gathered at great trouble and some of them at a considerable 
expense and it would be a most valuable record, especially to the 
western Societies, where it is extremely difficult to obtain books. 
The Minnesota Society has, I think, all the books that have been 
published by the different states, but those books are rare and hard 
to obtain. 

Mr. Carpender (New York). Mr. President, T think that that 
is all very well, but I think the General Society is hardly financially 
strong enough to do it yet. It may come within a year or two, 
but we have not the money. 

Mr. Hurd (Minnesota). It is simply a question of the General 
Society taking the matter up and notifying the State Societies what 
it is going to cost, and see. It will have to be done by the General 
Society. 



Excerpt of Meeting. 27 

Mr. Livingston (Kentucky). Only to meet the objection of my 
friend Carpender from New York by suggesting that the different 
State Societies will take enough copies of these books to pay the 
expenses of the publication, and, further than that, it will probably 
be at least a year before this book could be brought out. My 
resolution, sir, is now : 

That the General Registrar be instructed to prepare and publish 
a book which shall contain the names and records of the members 
of all the State Societies, together with an alphabetical list of all 
Revolutionary ancestors of their members and the statement of 
their service. 

That, in short, is the resolution. 

Mr. Leach (Pennsylvania). In the absence, Mr. President, of 
the General Registrar, who is a member of the Pennsylvania 
Society, and knowing something about the labor involved in 
getting up such a book, I want to say here that it would require 
almost the undivided time of our Registrar from now until the 
next time we meet, until a year from now, to prepare that book. 
If such a book were to be prepared, it would have to be referred 
to a committee, it seems to me, or the Registrar might be instructed 
to expend the money to employ a clerk to do the work during that 
year. Unless that was done, it could not be done. 

Mr. Belknap (New York). Mr. President, the matter covered 
by this proposition is a very important one ; one which will be of 
very great service, I doubt not, to the Society. As I understand 
the resolution, it is that the matter be referred to the Registrar 
and he is authorized to prepare such a book. 

We direct him to prepare such a book. Now, sir, so far, 
of course, practically this book when it is published must be 
published at the expense of the General Society and the mem- 
bers of the State Societies would be expected to take it as their 
general year-book of the Societies. I think it would be a pity 
to pass the resolution in the form in which it is placed, for the 
reason that New York has already in preparation its year-book. 
They are prepared to publish it within a few months. They are 
not, therefore, likely to be in a position to be able to take up their 
share of this general book. There are a great many questions of 
detail in connection with a work of that kind which will require 



28 Sons of the Revolution. 

very great care, systematized work, and it ought to be arranged in 
such a way as not to be a financial burden on the Society. I 
would like to offer as an amendment to this resolution : 

That the matter be referred to a special committee, of which 
the Registrar shall be one, in order to report at the uext 
meeting of the General Society their recommendations as to 
the method and size to be adopted in the publications of this 
General Society. 

This covers quite a large range, as you see, my thought being 
that before we start out on making a publication we should decide 
on some uniform line, in order that all publications, whether yearly 
proceedings of the General Society, and if possible the general 
proceedings, or publications of the State Society, should as far as 
possible be made a uniform series, so that they can be bound 
together and preserved conveniently for the future. 

3Ir. Montgomery (General Secretary, speaking from the floor). 
In support of that resolution, I hope the General Society will 
decide to publish a year-book, and it will be, I know, a great 
undertaking. It will not be finished for a year at the least, and 
the final determination can be passed upon next year. As to the 
paying for it, I do not think the bills will come in before next 
year. It will take at least a year to prepare this book. 

The President. Does the gentleman from New York make an 
amendment? 

Mr. Belknxxp (New York). I offer the amendment. 

Mr. Livingston (Kentucky). I hope the gentleman will with- 
draw the amendment. It is a matter of considerable importance, 
and yet his amendment is simply a resolution from the State Society, 
or, that is to say, a reference to the New York year-book. Now, 
we all look to New York and its year-book as a model, and we 
poor struggling Societies have not the time or the ability to get up 
such a good book. Now, his New York book will probably be 
published long before this book meets the public gaze at all. I 
don't see that his amendment would interfere or help the original 
motion in any way at all. Our idea is simply to get these materials 
together and publish them in a proper form. It will obviate the 
expense of the different State Societies getting out their own year- 
books, and the decreased expense to each State Society of not 



Excerpt of Meeting. 29 

publishing a year-book will largely go to maintain the General 
Society year-book. I therefore urge ray motion. 

Mr. Hackett (District of Columbia). I cannot help coinciding 
with the gentleman from New York as to the wisdom of referring 
this to a Committee. Any gentleman who has had experience in 
dealing with names and data must know that it requires not only 
an immense deal of work but the most careful method ; and it seems 
to me, while this work is very desirable, in fact is necessary, that 
its operation cannot be safely entered upon except through the 
medium of a Committee, who will digest the matter thoroughly 
and who will be ready in a year from now to proceed upon it. It 
is a very important work. It would be historical and would last 
for years. While I fully sympathize with my friend from the west 
and understand the need, I do think upon consideration that we 
will agree that this should proceed in the manner indicated by the 
gentleman from New York. 

Ml'. Belknap (New York). My resolution was that they report, 
the idea being to report a method of publication, a form of publi- 
cation — and I mean by that the way in which the whole thing 
should be determined. There are two or three ways in which it 
can be put into effect. There is the method which has been pursued 
by the New York Society, which is cumbersome and unduly large. 
There is another method, by means of index, and that is capable 
of one or two different forms. There is another question, with 
regard to size. Those of us who have any recollection of publica- 
tions of this Society at the present time, know that we have books 
that high and that high and that high (indicating); we have books 
this wide and that wide and that wide (indicating). It seems to 
me that before we start out on a commencement of a series of 
publications by this General Society, it is the part of wisdom and 
good judgment to have the matter threshed over as to what size of 
book, what form of publication, it is desirable for us to take, and 
then stick to it. Let us have as we have in the order of the Cin- 
cinnati, where every publication of every State Society is made 
of a uniform line, and I have a series of volumes about that long 
bound up. They are all uniform, everything, in shape. Now, 
why shouldn't this start the same way? If, however, this matter 
is referred to the General Registrar at the present moment, and he 



30 Sons of the Revolution. 

is ordered to publish a book, why, it will be his general idea, and 
while it may be very excellent, yet it is quite possible that the 
general spirit may not be in full accord with all the necessities of 
the case. 

Mr. Montgomery (General Secretary, speaking from the floor). 
I will state that the General Registrar, a member of the Pennsyl- 
vania Society, has had experience with this work, from what we 
have seen of it, and he will do it, and he will do it as he has always 
done it. I do not see what difficulty there can be. He has never 
had any dispute on work of that sort. 

Mr. Floyd-Jones (Illinois). The Illinois Society is now getting 
up a book which will probably be issued next month, and it really 
covers the ground that we are trying to get at now. I will read 
a form of each member : 

Leffingwell, Arthur Chicago, Illinois. 

Great-great-grandson, Captain Christopher LeflBngwell, Sandwich, Con- 
necticut, member of General Assembly, Sandwich, 1770. 

In command of Sandwich business men, alarm of Arnold's attack, Septem- 
ber, 1781. 

One of the projectors and financial backer of Ticonderoga expedition. 

Ref.: 

American Archives, 4th Series, Vol. 2. 
Conn. Archives, Men of the Rev., page 629. 
Conn. Historical Society, Vol. 1. 
Montpelier, Vermont, Historical Society Report. 

Every member of the Illinois Society has got to have a reference, 
and that reference shows in our book. Now, if it goes through in 
every State Society, if a book of that kind is issued, including all 
of the members of every State Society, it would be a great benefit 
to the western societies. We would like to have it. We are going 
to have our own book, and all we have to do is to pass our book 
over to the General Registrar and he can get the whole Illinois 
list ; no trouble there. 

Mr. Leach (Pennsylvania). Well, now, Mr. President, there is 
trouble there. It would be a most unfortunate book if each State 
Society should make up her own record and they should appear 
there in a different way. Some State Societies have not made up 
their record, giving references. If one Society is there with refer- 
ences and another Society not with references, the book would not 



Excerpt of Meeting. 31 

be uniform and would not be creditable to us. It ought to be 
either one thing or the other, and all reports should be alike. . 

The question was called for. 

The President. The question is on the amendment submitted 
by the gentleman from New York, which comes up first. The 
amendment will be read. 

The stenographer read the amendment which Mr. Belknap of 
New York had offered, as follows : 

That the matter be referred to a special committee, of which the 
Registrar shall be one, in order to report at the next meeting ot 
the General Society their recommendations as to the method and 
size to be adopted in the publications of this General Society Book. 

J/r. Belknap (New York). And also the estimated cost of the 
proposed publication. 

The President. Well, gentlemen, you have heard the amend- 
ment. Are you ready for the question ? 

The President. The Secretary will call the roll, then. The 
Chairman of each delegation will announce the vote of his State 
as the State is called. The question is on the adoption of the 
amendment. 

The vote resulted as follows : 

Yes. — California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, 
Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New 
York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and 
"West Virginia — 14. 

No.— Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Tennessee — 5. 

Absent or not voting. — Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, 
Washington — 5. 

Mr. Harris (Assistant General Secretary). The vote, sir, as 
recorded, is 14 ayes, 5 noes. 

The President. Gentlemen, the report of the Secretary is that 
14 states have voted aye and 5 no. The ayes have it, therefore the 
resolution is amended, the amendment is adopted. 

Mr. Livingston (Kentucky). I move the adoption of the reso- 
lution as amended. 

Mr. Carpender (New York). Second the motion. 

The President. The question now is on the adoption of the 
resolution as amended. Will that be taken by States ? 



32 Sons of the Revolution. 

Delegates. No. 

The President. Those in favor of the resolution as amended 
will say aye ; those opposed no. The ayes have it, and the motion 
is adopted as amended. 

Committee. 

Grarrett Dorset Wall Vroom, General Vice-President, Chairman. 

John W. Jordan, General Registrar. 

Thomas H. Edsall, Registrar Colorado Society. 

Charles Isham, Registrar New York Society. 

Ethan Allen Weaver, Secretary Pennsylvania Society. 



PUBLICATION OP NATIONAL ARCHIVES. 

Mr. Collins (California). Mr. President, if in order, the Cali- 
fornia Society ha\B instructed me to bring before this meeting the 
matter of the memorial to Congress looking towards the publication 
of the National Archives relating to the War of the Revolution. 
It is possible, very probable, that most of the gentlemen present 
have seen the memorial which was prepared by the California 
Society last year, a copy of which was sent to each State Society 
with a circular letter. Not to detain your attention too long, I 
will read from the circular letter a portion of what ^ was requested 
or what ^ was suggested by the California Society should be the 
action of the several State Societies : 

" We suggest that official action upon the memorial or the gen- 
eral substance thereof be had by each Society, and the results of 
such action be forwarded to the General Society with a request 
that the General Society, as the representative of the United State! 
Societies, cause the same to be presented to Congress at a suitable 
time." 

I am informed that several State Societies adopted the memorial 
prepared by the California Society, some of them in substance and 
some of them in the language of the original memorial. I am 
aware that at the last session of Congress action was had looking 
towards the publication of these original records, but that action 
simply ordered that all of these archives should be placed in the 
charge of the State Department, I believe, no appropriation having 



Excerpt of Meeting. 33 

been passed or having been made for their publication. In further- 
ance of this view, I desire to introduce the following resolution : 

Resolved, that a Committee of five be appointed by the President, 
to take into consideration the feasibility of urging upon Congress 
the enactment of such a law as will secure the publication of all 
of the Archives of the United States government relating to the 
War of the Revolution, and that said Committee have full power 
to act in the premises. 

I introduce this resolution on behalf of the California Society. 

Mr. Cadle (Missouri). Mr. President, I would like to ask the 
gentleman from California if Congress has not already passed that 
bill. I have some correspondence with Colonel Ainsworth, Chief 
of the Bureau of War Records, at Washington, and he informs me 
that Congress did pass such a bill, and that the records of the 
State Department and Treasury Department have all been placed 
in his hands and that he is now preparing that record. 

Mr. Collins (California). I will state that Congress has not 
passed the resolution, nor has Congress made any appropriation 
for the publication of those records. Congress did pass a law at 
the last session directing that all of the Archives in the Treasury, 
the Department of the Interior and in the Post Office Department 
be turned over to the charge of the State Department, and that is 
being done now. Congress passed no appropriation nor did it 
make any provision for the publication of these Archives. The 
resolution which I have introduced looks toward the passage of a 
sufficient appropriation to secure the publication of these Archives 
in a manner similar to the publication of the records of the War 
of the Rebellion, now amounting to 78 or 80 volumes. 

The President. The resolution will be read by the Secretary, 
so that the body may understand it. 

Mr. Montgomery (General Secretary). (Reading.) 

Resolved, that a Committee of five be appointed by the President, 
to take into consideration the feasibility of urging upon Congress 
the enactment of such a law, as will secure the publication of all 
of the Archives of the United States Government, relating to the 
War of the Revolution, and that said Committee have full power 
to act in the premises. 

The President. Is the meeting ready for the question ? Those 
3 



34 Sons of the Revolution. 

in favor of the adoption of that resolution will say aye ; those op- 
posed no. The ayes have it, the motion is adopted. 

Mr. Collins (California). Mr. President, it is customary, I know, 
to appoint the mover of a resolution as Chairman of the Committee. 
I desire that I shall not be placed upon that Committee, because 
the work can be done very much more expeditiously and better by 
gentlemen who live near the city of Washington. 

Committee. 

Hon. Wm. Franklin Draper, Massachusetts, Chairman. 

Daniel Coit Oilman, LL. D., Maryland. 

Bishop Henry B. Whipple, Minnesota. 

Henry Cadle, Missouri. 

Judge J. M. Hagans, West Virginia. 

ELIGIBILITY THROUGH COLLATERALS. 

Mr. Hurd (Minnesota). I offer a resolution : 

Resolved, that the General Society directs the attention of State 
Societies whose constitutions contain eligibility through collaterals, 
that the same is in conflict with the Constitution of the General 
Society. 

Mr. Jones (Pennsylvania). I second that motion. 

The President. Is the meeting ready for the question ? 

The question was called for. 

The President. Those in favor of the adoption of this resolution 
will say aye; those opposed no. The ayes have it, the resolution 
is adopted (applause). 

Mr. Hurd (Minnesota). I would like, Mr. President, to have 
that vote taken by States, so that it will go on record. 

The President. Gentlemen, it is suggested that this resolution 
is an important one, and that it would be better to have the vote 
registered by States. The vote seems to be unanimous upon the 
resolution here, but it is thouglit that, being an important resolu- 
tion, it had better be reconsidered, and every State put on record 
regarding its vote either in favor of it or against it. It is within 
the power of the meeting by general consent to have that vote taken 
again by States, or to move a reconsideration of the motion by which 
this was adopted, so that it can be put by States, either one. Well, 



Excerpt of Meeting. 35 

the vote by which this was adopted will have to be reconsidered 
first, unless by general consent, if the meeting is disposed. 

Mr. Olyphant (South Carolina). I move the vote be reconsidered. 

The motion to reconsider was duly seconded and was adopted. 

3fr. Hurd (Minnesota). Now, I move that it be taken by States. 

The President. Now, the proposition is that we take this vote 
by States. If the meeting is ready for the question, the Secretary 
will call the roll and the Chairman of each delegation will vote 
aye or no as the State is called. 

Mr. Harris (Assistant General Secretary). Mr. President, is 
this a question upon which the general officers have an opportunity 
of recording their votes, because I think some of them would like 
to do it. 

The President. I think so. 

Mr. Harris (Assistant General Secretary). Then I call, sir, 
the President General, John Lee Carroll. 

The vote resulted as follows : 

Aye. — General President, John Lee Carroll ; General Vice- 
President, D. W. Vroom ; General Secretary, James Mortimer 
Montgomery ; Assistant General Secretary, William Hall Harris ; 
General Treasurer, R. M. Cadwalader. California, Connecticut, 
District of Columbia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massa- 
chusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New 
York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Ten- 
nessee and West Virginia. 

No. — None. 

Absent or not voting. — General Registrar, John Woolf Jordan. 
Alabama, Colorado, Florida and Georgia. 

Mr. Harris (Assistant General Secretary). Unanimous, sir, by 
every General Officer and by all the States. 

The President. The resolution is unanimously adopted by States, 
as well as vive voce. (Applause.) 



THE NEXT MEETING. 

The President. The Secretary will read a letter from Georgia 
in relation to the next annual meeting of this Society. 
Mr. Montgomery (General Secretary). (Reading.) 



36 Sons of the Revolviion. 

1776-1883. 

Sons of the Revolution. 

State of Georgia. 

Savannah, A'pril \1th, 1895. 

To the Hon. John Lee Carroll, 

General President of the General Society 

of the Sons of the Revolution : 

Dear Sir : — I am authorized, by a resolution of the Society of 
the Sons of the Revolution in the State of Georgia, passed at its 
last annual meeting, to extend to the General Society an invitation 
to hold its next annual meeting in the city of Savannah. 

Cordially complying with this most agreeable duty, and trusting 
that the General Society will accept this invitation, I have the 

honor to remain, 

Very faithfully yours, 

John Scriven, 

President. 

Mr. Jones (Pennsylvania). Are you going to take some action 
on that? 

The President. Yes. The question is before the meeting. A 
motion is in order. 

Mr. Jones (Pennsylvania). I move that the invitation of the 
Georgia Society be accepted, and that the next annual meeting of 
the General Society be held at Savannah, Georgia. 

Mr. Hone (New York). I second the motion. 

The President. Gentlemen, you have heard the motion. Those 
who are in favor of its adoption will say aye ; those opposed, no. 
The ayes have it, the motion is adopted. 

Mr. Jones (Pennsylvania). Mr. President, I offer the following 
resolution : 

Resolved, that the General Society of Sons of the Revolution 
desires to express to the Honorable, the Mayor and Board of 
Aldermen of the city of Boston, its thanks for the courtesy which 
has permitted it to enjoy the privilege of holding its meeting of 
April nineteenth, 1895, in Faneuil Hall. 

Mr. Carpender (New York). I second the motion. 



Excerpt of Meeting. 



37 



The President. You have heard the motion, gentlemen. Those 
in favor of adopting it will say aye ; those opposed, no. The ayes 
have it, the motion is adopted. 

Mr. Jones (Pennsylvania). I also offer the following resolution : 

Resolved, that the General Society of Sons of the Revolution 
extends to the Society of Sons of the Revolution in the Common- 
wealth of Massachusetts, collectively, and to its Members indi- 
vidually, its hearty thanks for the cordial and hospitable reception 
which it has received in the Commonwealth, and its most sincere 
hope that the Society within its borders may uninterruptedly in- 
crease and prosper. (Applause.) 

Mr. Olyphant (South Carolina). I second the motion. 

Mr. Hackett (District of Columbia). I move that be taken by 
a rising vote. 

The President. Those in favor of the adoption of the resolution 
will please rise ; those opposed. It is unanimously adopted. 

Mr. Hagans (West Virginia). Mr. President, I move we 
adjourn. 

Mr. Montgomery (General Secretary). The Massachusetts Society 
desires it to be announced that dinner will be served at the Algon- 
quin Club at seven o'clock this evening. 

The motion to adjourn, which had been made by Mr. Hagans, 
of West Virginia, was duly seconded. It was adopted, and the 
convention adjourned. 




W^SHIirOTOK ASSCMINO COKMAND OF THE ARMT. 



Prize Essays. 



PRIZE ESSAYS. 



At a meeting of the General Society held in the Senate Chamber 
in Annapolis on the 19th of April, 1894, it was resolved that a 
Gold Medal as a First Prize and a Silver Medal as a Second Prize 
for the best Original Essays upon the subject " The Navy in the 
Revolution " should be offered to the Cadets of the United States 
Naval Academy. 

The Essays were to contain not less than 1776 words, and to be 
signed by a nom-de-plume, accompanied by a sealed envelope (with 
the nora-de-plume on the outside) containing the writer's real name. 

The Secretary of the Navy, Hon. Hilary A. Herbert, was present 
at that meeting, and he very kindly consented to the Prize Medals 
being offered. 

In response to this offer quite a number of cadets submitted 
Essays, which were handed to a Committee composed of William 
Hall Harris, Assistant General Secretary, Daniel Coit Gilman, 
LL. D., President of the Johns Hopkins University and Thomas 
William Hall, Esq., of the Maryland Society. 

In the judgment of the Committee, the successful competitors 
were: 

Gold Medal. — Naval Cadet Cassius Barti.ett Barnes : 
Silver Medal. — Naval Cadet James Proctor Morton : 

and they were so awarded. 

The presentation was made at the Naval Academy by Daniel 
Coit Gilman, LL. D., and Thomas William Hall, Esq., on June 
1st, 1895. 

41 



THE PRIZE ESSAY. 

(gold medal.) 



The American Navy in the War of the 
Revolution. 



In the piping; times of peace, a Nation's Navy exists in two 
separate and distinct parts — the protective Navy, and the merchant 
marine. In war, it becomes the duty of the former to protect the 
latter, and the one becomes so blended in the other that there is no 
exact line of demarcation. 

At the commencement of the War of the Revolution, which was 
then more of an insurrection than a revolution, America had no 
Navy distinctively her own. Bearing about the same relation to 
the, English government as the old Roman provinces did to the 
rule of the seven-hilled city, and treated by that government with 
the same disregard and contempt for their natural and moral rights, 
the several colonies, goaded to desperation by this arrogant op- 
pression, resolved upon war as a last resource, and immediately 
entered upon it almost wholly unprepared. 

What an unequal fight it was ! England had established the 
best Navy in the world both in number and size of vessels and in 
the thorough discipline and training of their crews. America, her 
natural resources untouched, depending almost entirely upon Eng- 
lish ships for her commercial intercourse with other countries, with 
not a single man-of-war to guard her rugged shores or report the 
advent of British transports, was nearly destitute. 

There was no time for organization of fleets under experienced 
commanders. There were no ships belonging to the colonial 
government to form a nucleus upon which a Navy could be built. 

43 



44 Sons of the Revolution. 

But there were the inimitable forests of New England given to the 
American people by the same just God that gave them freedom, 
and to these forests the people resorted to assist in defending that 
freedom. American industry and perseverance soon furnished a 
few ships, which, when equipped by American seamen, supplied the 
government with others in much less time than is required for 
building them. 

But America's ascendancy lay in the courage and pluck of her 
individual citizens, just such qualities as were then necessary to win 
a naval battle. In our day of long range naval fights, when the 
call of " Boarders Away" will probably never be heard, it stirs the 
blood and lights the eye to think of those times when two hostile 
ships were brought together, and men, drawn cutlasses in hand, 
scarcely waited for the grappling irons, but vied with each other in 
reaching the enemy's deck, from which there was no retreat until 
her proud ensign was lowered to the " Stars and Stripes." 

When the difficulties under which the American seamen then 
labored are considered, the wonderful courage they displayed is 
amazing even in our day of brave men. 

What a tribute to American valor and patriotism ! What daring 
to invade Old Albion's very shores and strike terror to the heart 
of the Briton whose eyes had not for generations beheld England's 
foe on her own well-guarded isle. 

At every encounter men were transformed into heroes. He who 
served the guns ; he who manned the tops and picked off the enemy 
one by one ; he who, with cutlass and pistol, wounded, even dying, 
yet sustained by bright hopes of freedom, fought till there was left 
none to oppose him ; all are alike heroes. 

The reward for one well-fought battle was often to die in the next. 
Yet men but sought the conflict more eagerly. Inspired by the 
knowledge that a just cause must prevail and of duty nobly done, how 
blest were they who closed their eyes as Britain's flag was lowered ! 

Man after man that had spent his life and amassed some riches 
in the peaceful pursuit of commerce, surrendered his private am- 
bition and converted his merchant vessel into a privateer, manned 
her at liis own expense, commanded her himself and sailed forth 
in quest of battle. By such sacrifices alone was honor sustained 
and freedom purchased. 



Prize Essays. 45 

The story of the Bon Homme Richard, sailed by a gallant 
captain, is characteristic of American valor. When her English 
combatant, seeing the carnage and destruction his guns had wrought, 
asked if she struck, he was answered that the fight had but begun. 
Yes, there were more English ships and more English subjects and 
John Paul Jones knew where to find them and how to take them 
when he had found them. 

Jones was called a pirate and freebooter by the British, because 
he sailed along their coasts destroying their shipping and threaten- 
ing whole sections of their country. They did not understand how 
such deeds of daring could be performed by a human being. In 
their minds his dashing bravery in the prosecution of a good cause 
could not be separated from the idea of an outcast of every nation 
living on the sea and preying upon commerce. Much more like 
pirates were those British officers, who feeling secure of the fact of 
England's supremacy on the seas, attacked and captured American 
ships in neutral harbors. Even after the war, England declined 
to make reparation for these crimes as required by international 
custom. 

The Declaration of Independence gave a joyful impetus to the 
war. Now it was a free country, untrammeled by hereditary 
monarchy, protecting free institutions, that the American was 
called upon to sustain. William Pitt, the brightest star among 
the constellation of England's statesmen, had declared that this 
war could end but in ignominy and shame for England. Like 
Cassandra with the Trojans his prophesy was fated to go unheeded, 
and England lost more brave men and fairer land than she can 
ever hope to conquer. 

Blue-jackets to serve the guns and manoeuvre the ships were at 
all times badly needed. Veteran seamen preferred to man a priva- 
teer where naval discipline was not observed, with chance of rich 
prizes, to enlisting in a service in which remuneration was small 
and uncertain and discipline very severe. 

Owing to this difficulty our crews were often of the most mixed 
character. Combining the diffisrent national characteristics of 
almost all the nations of Europe within the limited living space 
of a ship is hardly conducive to those feelings which should bind 
men fighting shoulder to shoulder for a common cause. And, 



46 Sons of the Revolution. 

laboring under such disadvantages, never sure that mutiny was not 
breeding, the officers of a ship were at all times called upon to per- 
form miracles of valor to inspire with confidence such a hetero- 
geneous crew. 

Yet in every case they proved themselves fully competent. 
Jones, Barry, Tucker, Biddle — even to this day their names are 
inspiring to the young American that hears their exploits. To be 
the son of such a sire is better than to be the heir of the United 
Kingdom. 

The Americans sent out a few small fleets at different times, but 
they were unable to successfully engage those of King George, 
because of the disparity in numbers and meagreness of equipment 
of their ships. 

American privateers did noble service against the enemy, in de- 
stroying vessels and otherwise crippling for the time England's 
commerce by sea. Their service makes the right to commission 
such vessels during war invaluable to America until she has brought 
her standing Navy to that degree of j)erfection which would enable 
her to successfully cope with any foreign power on the sea. And 
it was the recollection of their value in this war that led the nation 
to decline to surrender that right when invited to do so by England 
and other great sea powers. 

In '77 France acknowledged the independence of the colonies, 
and sent a fleet under D'Estaing to aid them against her old enemy. 
While upon several occasions the French did render the colonies 
able assistance, yet by the action of D'Estaing in withdrawing his 
fleet just at the time it was most needed, the fall of one of the 
principal American cities was precipitated and much American 
ammunition and stores fell into the hands of the British. 

So, whatever of glory on the sea is due to freedom's cause in the 
"War of the Revolution belongs rightfully to those patriots alone, 
who, by their personal bravery and untiring perseverance against 
overwhelming odds, performed such deeds as to call forth the 
bravos of all Europe. 

Tyranny could not possibly withstand for long the onslaughts 
of such dogged determination. 

Bested both by land and sea the red-coat of England and the 
hired Hessian were alike ready to withdraw from war with a 



Prize Essays. 47 

country advocating such mighty principles and so ably defending 
them. 

From this war the United States arose a sovereign and inde- 
pendent Nation — a Nation which already had a history of noble 
deeds and patriotic principles. She, infant as she was, found Eng- 
land " mistress of the seas," and left her stripped of her gaudy 
prestige. 

And those men who wrought such changes — where are they now ? 
Dead ? Never. Like as a devout believer builds a shrine to his 
patron saint, so the American people have their patriots' names 
enshrined in their hearts. They shall never die. Oblivion is not 
for those who devoted their lives to such a cause. The remem- 
brance of their exploits is ever recurring. As we face the roomy 
decks of the old Alliance, Franklin and Portsmouth where Ameri- 
cans died that we might be Americans, what a feeling of reverence 
floods our hearts for those that left to their posterity this fair land, 
the worthy birthplace of freedom ! 

The national ensign, the " Stars and Stripes," as free as the winds 
that unfold it, covers its patriot dead. No more will they join 
battle for it and the mighty principles of which it is symbolic. 
But should an occasion ever again arise in which such principles 
need defense, their names, their deeds, their death, has surely incul- 
cated in their posterity enough of their loyalty and patriotism to 
maintain that which they themselves established. 

America. 



SECOND PRIZE ESSAY. 
(silver medal.) 

The American Navy in the War of the 
Revolution. 



The history of the struggle for Independence participated in by 
the thirteen colonies, and resisted by the mother country, presents 
to view a stirring panorama that is, in many particulars, without 
a parallel in the annals of warfare, ancient or modern. 

When Great Britain entered the contest to prevent tRe secession 
of her richest and most powerful colonies, she could have enter- 
tained no thought of other than a brief war. Secure in her title, 
" the Mistress of the Seas," she had little to fear in the way of 
opposition. No apparent obstacle existed to prevent the landing 
of her armies ; no powerful navy rode at anchor in the American 
ports to protect our shores from foreign invasion ; England seemed 
only in need of sufficient vessels to transport her troops. An un- 
prejudiced observer would most unhesitatingly have averred that 
those disciplined battalions and well-trained squadrons that crossed 
the Atlantic under the standards of King George, came with 
victory at their helms. But as the picture gradually unfolds 
itself, he is brought to realize what a brave people may do when 
freedom is in danger ; and, in the end, he finds himself wondering 
if there is a limit to human endurance or to human bravery. 

The desperate condition, into which the affairs of the country 
were thrown by reason of the sudden outburst of war, rendered 
practically null that clause of the Confederation which gave Con- 
gress power "to provide and maintain a navy;" and it is a re- 
markable fact that what came subsequently to be regarded as the 
48 



Prize Essays. 49 

right arm of the national defense, was so little fostered or thought 
of at the beginning of those eight years of suffering and bloodshed. 
No country ever went to war with so hopeless an outlook as far as 
maritime operations were concerned. While the services of many 
seafarers were available, who were well versed in the practical 
principles of seamanship and navigation, their knowledge had been 
obtained under the schooling of the merchant marine ; and those 
qualities that so markedly distinguish the naval officer from the 
merchant seaman were not to be expected. The country in peace 
had not prepared for war ; the colonies had become accustomed to 
rely on England for protection on the sea ; all that was to be sub- 
sequently regarded as maritime strength was yet undeveloped. 

The initial step taken to establish a coast defence was a resolu- 
tion, passed by Congress in 1775, for the construction of two ships, 
whose chief end should be the destruction of supply vessels that 
were continually transporting troops and military stores for the 
maintenance of the invading army. Although the number was 
augmented from time to time, never during the entire period of the 
war did the Navy boast as many as thirty ships actually serving 
under the orders of the Continental Congress. In contrast to this 
number we behold, at the same time, the British Navy floating 
three hundred formidable vessels, fully equipped and manned. 

Notwithstanding our meagre force, the American cruisers opened 
the war upon the sea by attacking the commerce carried on between 
England and Africa, and met with such success that during the 
first two years of the war many hundred vessels of the British 
merchant service were captured, and the African trade almost an- 
nihilated. These cruises had the twofold effect of keeping up a 
show of resistance, while a more powerful navy could be created, 
and of inspiring the colonists with a hope of ultimate success. 

The spirit of the people was strikingly manifested in the great 
number of privateers that entered the Service at this time to share 
the weal and woe of the infant navy. Legislative acts authorizing 
seizure of armed ships and merchantmen of the enemy aroused a 
new zeal among New England ship-owners; and they, having waited 
only legal sanction, now proceeded to make their vessels formidable, 
and the high seas soon swarmed with privateers whose daring, dash, 
and vigor, so effectually hindered the commerce and harassed the 
4 



50 Sons of the Revolution. 

navy of the English, that the new government was forced into a 
position not to be despised by even the haughty mother country. 

Early in the year of 1776, Great Britain began to take a more 
serious view of the naval war hitherto waged in a desultory manner, 
and to make preparations to drive the American vessels from the 
seas. Special inducements in the shape of bounties were offered 
by the government to induce recruits to enter His Majesty's Navy; 
impressment was resorted to, and all possible means were exhausted 
to fill the scant crews at the English guns. This side of the At- 
lantic, how different ! Every ship was manned as soon as ready 
for sea ; letters of marque and reprisal were granted by Congress 
in answer to petitions, and the countless captures that followed 
showed the sea-power to be a potent factor in the great struggle. 
In the short time that had elapsed since the declaration of war the 
navy had made unprecedented strides. The patriotic sacrifices 
made by the hundreds of men that went to sea in inferior vessels, and 
against the foremost navy in the world, should never be forgotten. 

Two enterprises of this war cannot be overlooked : they are the 
famous cruises of Wickes and Jones. The first named, in the 
summer of 1776, with his cruiser, the Reprisal, accompanied by the 
Lexington and the Dolphin, carried terror to the English and Irish 
seas, where he made capture after capture, and no English ship was 
safe as long as his three were abroad ; he extended his cruise to the 
West Indies and added many more to his list of prizes. This style 
of warfare was one that even England, boasting all her ponderous 
navy, and schooled as she was in the art of war, was not acquainted 
with ; it was a departure from all known practices in naval tactics ; 
and not until England felt the tide of commerce stemmed, did she 
fully realize the efficiency of the new system. 

But daring among the dauntless, famous among the famed, stands 
one whose counterpart history does not furnish — John Paul Jones ! 
With crews of ill-supplied, undisciplined men, and officers guilty 
of constant insubordination, success seemed impossible. He found 
himself in a situation that called into play all the sagacity, coolness 
and bravery that formed his distinguishing traits. After destroying 
such of the enemy's ships as came to his notice, and burning maga- 
zines and stores along the coast of Canada, he ventured eastward 
and led attacks against the ports of the British Isles. With his 



Prize Essays. 51 

inferior ships he burned and pkindered ; and at sea gave battle to 
the best ships he encountered. So terrible were his ravages that 
no vessel of commerce dared to venture upon the sea unaccompanied 
by a man-of-war. In his flagship Bon Homme Richard, he attacked 
the Serapis, and notwithstanding the inequality of the vessels and 
the recent trials through which his men had passed (they being at 
the time in a state bordering on mutiny), he fought such a desperate 
battle that his opponent was forced to surrender after one of the 
most sanguinary combats of history. This testifies to the despera- 
tion with which our seamen fought ; it was a desperation that com- 
pensated for the lack of discipline and skill. 

But the darkest period of the war was yet to come. The French 
government had been unable to provide the promised forces ; the 
army was in a state of starvation at the beginning of the year 
1780 ; and the campaigns that had been so hopefully planned were 
abandoned for want of men. Instinctively all eyes were turned 
toward the navy — that organization once so despised, but which had 
subsequently forced itself into prominence and was now regarded as 
indispensable to the further maintenance of the war. But in the 
general disaster that overtook the American forces, the Navy 
suffered as well as the Army; the privateers with their more 
favorable inducements absorbed the great majority of seamen that 
had hitherto supplied the regular vessels of war; and, as their 
actions were almost entirely confined to the captures of merchant- 
men, the navy was sadly reduced in the numbers of both officers 
and men ; further exchange of prisoners being refused by the enemy, 
the numbers were reduced still more. Never since the beginning 
of the Revolution had the condition of the navy reached so low an 
ebb. Of those vessels that had carried on the war with results so 
damaging to Great Britain's sea power, only six now remained. 
So we see that as regards both ships and men the navy was in a poor 
condition to respond to the appeals of the Americans to continue the 
now seemingly hopeless conflict. The enemy had blockaded the 
coast of New England with a splendid navy recently constructed 
to terminate this struggle with the now enfeebled colonies. 

In the summer of this year Captain Nicholson and a few other 
brave commanders conducted our merchantmen, at various times, 
past the blockade, after victorious actions with overwhelmingly 
superior forces. 



52 Soils of the Revolution, 

This was but a single instance of the inequality that characterized 
the battles of this war; a general view will show that this state of 
affairs was not only true in the case of special engagements but 
also in the final summary. The Continental vessels lost in the 
entire eight years of war amounted to less than thirty, while the 
Eno-lish loss did not fall below a hundred. This combined with 
the capture of nearly a thousand ships of the merchant service goes 
to show the noble resolution and unparalleled success with which 
the naval heroes of the war of the Revolution acquitted themselves 
in the time of national peril. 

The dawn of the next year saw victory crown the efforts of Army 
and Navy — the two had vied with each other in glorious deeds, 
and to both belong the praise. The Army had done its share — 
Saratoga, Trenton, and Yorktown, tell the story of their achieve- 
ments. But, the Navy ? What had it done to aid the struggle for 
Independence ? It had carried the " Stars and Stripes " to foreign 
waters and secured its recognition from European nations; it had 
announced to the world that a new Republic had been established 
and was battling bravely for its self-preservation ; it had shown in 
its ships what the spirit of freedom could accomplish without navy- 
yards and with reduced resources ; it had kept our ports open to 
commerce and had humbled the proud spirit of Great Britain by 
destroying many of her most valuable vessels of trade and of war. 

Without the vigilance and activity of the navy, with its crews of 
fearless patriots, what would have happened ? The transportation 
of British troops and their landing on the shores of the colonies 
would have met no opposition ; the supplies from England sent to 
maintain these troops would have needed not so much as a gunboat 
for safe conduct; the commerce of the struggling colonies would 
have stagnated behind the blockade's grim line of warships, while 
England's trade with her numerous dependencies would have been 
untramraeled; the seaport cities — chief centres of nourishment to 
the great cause — would have been powerless before the bombarding 
fleets of the enemy; in short, the war would have been, as pre- 
dicted, a brief struggle; victory for the colonies would have been 
impossible ; and freedom, with all those blessings so dear to every true 
American, would have been strangled at its birth. 

Veritas. 



CERTIFICATE OF MEMBERSHIP. 



The Certificate of Membership issued by the General Society is 
reproduced on the following page. 

The Design is by Mr. Stanford White. 

The Plate is etched by Mr. Wm. Sartain. 

It is printed on parchment. 

The size of the plate, 19 x 24 inches, will permit inscribing the 
name and service of but one ancestor. 

To cover the cost of plate, parchment, engraving, engrossing, 
seal, etc., the price has been fixed at $5.00. 

Members desiring this certificate will please send the name of 
the ancestor they wish to appear, with the above amount ($5.00), 
to the Secretary of their State Society. 



OFFICERS 



OF THE 



GENERAL AND STATE SOCIETIES. 



July 4th, 1895. 



OFFICERS 

OF THE 

GENERAL SOCIETY. 



General President, 
HON. JOHN LEE CARROLL, EUicott City, Md., 

Of the Maryland Society. 

General Vice-President, 
GARRET DORSET WALL VROOM, Trenton, 

Of the New Jersey Society. 

Second General Vice-President, 
JOHN SCREVEN, Savannah, 

Of the Georgia Society. 

General Secretary, 
JAMES MORTIMER MONTGOMERY, No. 97 Cedar Street, New York, 

Of the New York Society. 

Assistant General Secretary, 
WILLIAM HALL HARRIS, No. 216 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, 

Of the Maryland Society. 

General Treasurer, 
RICHARD McCALL CADWALADER, 710 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, 

Of the Pennsylvania Society. 

General Assistant Treasurer, 

STEPHEN SALISBURY, Worcester, 

Of the Massachusetts Society. 

General Chaplain, 
REV. MORGAN DIX, D. D., S. T. D., New York City, 

Of the New York Society. 

General Registrar, 
JOHN WOOLF JORDAN, 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, 

Of the Pennsylvania Society. 

General Historian, 
THEODORUS BAILEY MYERS MASON, U. S. N., Washington, 

Of the District of Columbia Society. 
(57) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 



IN THE 



STATE OF NEW YORK. 

Instituted February 22, 1876. 

Reorganized December 4, 1883. 

Incorporated under the Laws of the State of New York May 3, 1884. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 
FREDERICK SAMUEL TALLMADGE, 167 Broadway, New York. 

Vice-President. 
WILLIAM GASTON HAMILTON, Hotel Waldorf, New York. 

Secretary, 
THOMAS E. VERMILYE SMITH, 56 Wall Street, New York. 

Treasurer. 
ARTHUR MELVIN HATCH, 96 Broadway, New York. 



Board of Managers. 

JOHN LAWRENCE, 

BENJAMIN DOUGLAS SILLIMAN, 

CHARLES AUGUSTUS SCHERMERHORN, 

ASA BIRD GARDINER, 

CHARLES AUGUSTUS PEABODY, Jr., 

HENRY WYCKOFF Le ROY, 

JOHN HONE, 

CHARLES HORNBLOWER WOODRUFF, 

WILLIAM GAYER DOMINICK, 

FREDERICK CLARKSON, 

JOHN TAYLOR TERRY, Jr. 



Registrar. Historian. * 

CHARLES ISHAM, TALBOT OLYPRANT, 

Hotel Waldorf, New York. 21 Cortlandt Street, New York. 

(58) 



Chaplain. 

Rev. BROCKHOLST MORGAN, 

38 Bleecker Street, New York. 



Delegates to the General Society 

JOHN HONE, 

ROBERT LENOX BELKNAP, 
ROBERT OLYPHANT, 
WILLIAM CARPENDER, 
JOHN CANFIELD TOMLINSON. 

Alternates. 

WILLIAM GAYER DOMINICK, 

GOVERNEUR MATHER SMITH, 

FREDERICK A. GUILD, 

WILLIAM BUNKER, 

Lieut. Col. GEORGE B. SANFORD, U. S. A. 



Total Membership, 1.599' 

(59) 



PENNSYLVANIA SOCIETY 

OF 

SONS OF THE REVOLUTION. 

Instituted April 3, 1888. 
Ikcobpokated undkr the Laws of the State of Pennsylvania, September 29, 1890. 



OFFICERS. 

President. First Vice-President. 

WILLIAM WAYNE, RICHARD McCALL CADWALADEB»: 

Paoli, Pa. 710 Walnut Street, Philadelphia. 

Second Vice-President. 
WILLIAM HENRY EGLE, M. D., Harrisburg, Pa. 
Secretary. 
ETHAN ALLEN WEAVER, Lock Box 713, Philadelphia. 
Residence, 3215 Spencer Terrace, West Philadelphia. 
Treasurer. 
CHARLES HENRY JONES, 505 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. 
Registrar. Historian. 

Capt. HENRY HOBART BELLAS, U. S. A., JOSIAH GRANVILLE LEACH, 

Germantown, Penna. 733 Walnut Street, Philadelphia. 

Chaplain. 
Rev. GEORGE WOOLSEY HODGE, 334 South 13th Street, Philadelphia. 



Board of Managers. 
JAMES EDWARD CARPENTER, Chairman. 
WILLIAM SPOHN BAKER, Hon. SAMUEL WHITAKER PENNYPACKER. LL. D., 
GEORGE MECUM CONARROE, WILLIAM MACPHERSON HORNOR, 

ISAAC CRAIG, JAMES MIFFLIN, 

Rev. HORACE EDWIN HAYDEN, Dr. THOMAS HEWSON BRADFORD. 



Delegates to the General Society. 
JAMES EDWARD CARPENTER, 
CHARLES HENRY JONES, 

Capt. RICHARD STRADER COLLUM, U. S. M. C. 
Hon. SAMUEL WHITAKER PENNYPACKER, LL. D., 
JOSEPH GRANVILLE LEACH. 

Alternates. 
FREDERICK PRIME, 
HENRY WHELEN, Jr.,' 
GRANT WEIDMAN, 
ETHAN ALLEN WEAVER, 
WASHINGTON HOPKINS BAKER, M. D. 



Total Membership, 889. 

(60) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

Instituted March 11, 1889. 
Incorporated under the Laws op the United States, December, 1889. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 
LEWIS JOHNSON DAVIS, 1411 Massachusetts Avenue, N. W., Washington. 

Vice-President. 
Admiral JAMES A. GREER, U.S. N., 2010 Hillyer Place, Washington. 

Ti-easurer, 
ALEXANDER BROWN LEGARE, Metropolitan Club, Washington. 

Secretary. 
CHARLES LAWRENCE GURLEY, 1335 F Street, N. W., Washington. 

Registrar. 
WILLIAM H. LOWDERMILK, 1424 F Street, N. W., Washington. 

Historian. 
GAILLARD HUNT, 1466 Rhode Island Avenue, N. W., Washington. 

Chaplain. 
Rev. RANDOLPH HARRISON McKlM, D. D., 1621 K Street, N. W., Washington. 



Board of Managers. 

DANIEL W. FLAGLER, U. S. A., 

GAILLARD HUNT, 

ALBION KEITH PARRIS, 

BENJAMIN LEWIS BLACKFORD, 

CHARLES HARROD CAMPBELL, 

BARRY BULKLEY, 

FRANCIS PRESTON BLAIR SANDS, 

HENRY GREENWAY KEMP, 

CHARLES FREDERICK TIFFANY BEALE. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

THOMAS BLAGDEN, 

FRANK W. HACKETT, 

HENRY MAY, 

CAZENOVE G. LEE, 

Captain DANIEL MORGAN TAYLOR, U. S. A. 



Total Membership, 2i6. 

(61) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THB 

STATE OF IOWA. 

Instituted April 19, 1890. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 
Right Rev. WILLIAM STEVENS PERRY, D. D. (Oxon.), LL. D., D. C. L., 

Bishop of Iowa. 

Vice-President. 

SAMUEL FRANCIS SMITH, Davenport. 

Secretary. 

Ven. SAMUEL ROOSEVELT JOHNSON HOYT, S. T. D., 

Akchdeacon of Davenport. Davenport. 

Treasurer. 

ESEK STEERE BALLORD, Davenport. 

Chaplain. 

Rev. SAMUEL NEWELL WATSON, D. D., Iowa aty. 

Registrar. 

HENRY HERVEY HILLS, Davenport. 

Historian. 

Rev. WILLIAM SALTER, D. D., Burlington. 



Board of Managers. 

Right Rev. WILLIAM STEVENS PERRY, 

SAMUEL FRANCIS SMITH, 

Ven. SAMUEL ROOSEVELT JOHNSON HOYT, 

ESEK STEERE BALLORD, 

Rev. SAMUEL NEWELL WATSON, 

HENRY HERVEY HILLS, 

Rev. WILLIAM SALTER, 

EDWARD SEYMOUR HAMMATT, 

Hon. GEORGE MARTIN CURTIS, 

THEODORE WELLS BARHYDT, 

JOHN BELL DOUGHERTY, 

CHARLES SEYMOUR ROBISON. 



Delegates to the General Society. 
Rt Rev. WILLIAM STEVENS perry, WILLIAM CLEMENT PUTNAM, 

Hon. GEORGE MARTIN CURTIS, WILLIAM PERRY BRADY, 

ARTEMUS LAMB. 

Alternates. 
CLIFFORD DUDLEY-HAM, Rev. SAMUEL NEWELL WATSON, 

EDWARD SEYMOUR HAMMATT, JAMES BLAINE MASON, 

JAMES MADISON De ARMOND, M. D. 



Total Membership, 85. 

(62) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY. 

Instituted January 6, 1891. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

S. MEREDITH DICKINSON, Trenton. 

Vice-President, 

CLEMENT HALL SINNICKSON, Salem. 

Secretary. 

JOHN ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, Trenton. 

Treasurer. 

HUGH HENDERSON HAMILL, Trenton. 

Registrar. 

FOSTER CONARROE GRIFFITH, Trenton. 

Historian. 

MORRIS HANCOCK STRATTON, Salem. 

Chaplain, 

Rev. CHARLES MARTER PERKINS, Salem. 



Board of Managers. 
GARRET DORSET WALL VROOM, 
GEORGE MAXWELL ROBESON, 
RICHARD FOWLER STEVENS, 
SCHUYLER COLFAX WOODHULL, 
GILBERT COLLINS, 
THOMAS J. YORKE, Jr., 
MALCOLM MACDONALD, 
A. Q. GARRETSON, 
WILLIAM ELMER, M. D. 



Delegates to the General Society. 
RICHARD FOWLER STEVENS, GILBERT COLLINS, 

S. MEREDITH DICKINSON, FRANK OBADIAH BRIGGS, 

THOMAS J. YORKE, Jr. 

Alternates. 
MALCOLM MACDONALD, HUGH HENDERSON HAMILL, 

JOHN ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, SCHUYLER COLFAX WOODHULL, 

FOSTER CONARROE GRIFFITH. 



Total Membership, 104. 

(63) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF GEORGIA. 

Instituted May 22, 1891. 
Incorporated March 29, 1894. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

Colonel JOHN SCREVEN, Savannah. 

First Vice-President. 

Hon. WILLIAM DEARING HARDEN, Savannah. 

Second Vice-President. 

Col. JOHN MILLEDGE, Atlanta. 

Secretary. 

WILLIAM HARDEN, 184 President Street, Savannah. 

Assistant Secretary. 

JAMES BOLTON WEST, Savannah. 

Treasurer. 

WARING RUSSELL, Savannah. 

Registrar. 

JOSEPH GASTON BULLOCH, M. D., Savannah. 

Chaplain. 

Rev. LACHLAN C. VASS, D. D., Savannah. 

Historian, 

Hon. HARVEY JOHNSON, Atlanta. 

Surgeon. 

T. B. CHISHOLM, M. D., Savannah. 

Marshal. 

T. D. ROCKWELL, Savannah. 



Board of Managers. 

GEORGE LYMAN APPLETON, G. B. PRITCHARD, 

ROBERT F. BURDELL, W. J. DeRENNE, 

H. V. WASHINGTON, J. F. MINIS, 

G. H. STONE, M. D., POPE BARROW, 
ARMINIUS OEMLER. 

Delegates to the General Society. 
Hon. WILLIAM DEARING HARDEN, WILLIAM HARDEN, 

WILLIAM DANIEL GRANT (Atlanta), Rev. LACHLAN C. VASS, D. D., 

Col. JOHN SCREVEN. 

THOMAS PINCKNEY HUGER, " GEORGE M. GADSDEN, 

HARVEY JOHNSON (Atlanta), HUGH V. WASHINGTON (Macon), 

JOSEPH G. BULLOCH, M. D. 

Total Membership, 117. 

(64) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. 

Organized in Faneuil Hall, October 1, 1891. 
Incorporated under the Laws op the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, October 9, 1891. 



OFFICERS. 

President, 
WILLIAM LEVERETT CHASE, 233 State Street, Boston. 

Vice-President. 
CLEMENT KELSEY FAY, Brookline, Mass. 

Secretary. 
HENRY DEXTER WARREN, Hotel Berkeley, Boston. 

Treasurer. 
ANDREW ROBESON. 

Regisli'ar. 
WALTER KENDALL WATKINS, 18 Somerset Street, Boston. 

Historian. 
FRANCIS ELLINGWOOD ABBOTT, Ph. D., Cambridge, Mass. 

Chaplain. 
Reverend LEONARD KIP STORKS, D. D., Brookline, Mass. 



BoAKD OF Managers. 
WALTER OILMAN PAGE, WINTHROP WETHERBEE, 

WILLIAM CURTIS CAPELLE, ARTHUR BRIGGS DENNY, 

JAMES ATKINS NOYES, FREDERICK BANKER CARPENTER, 

WILLIAM EUSTIS RUSSELL, FRANK MERRIAM, 

MERIWEATHER HOOD GRIFFITH. 



Delegates to the General Society. 
FRANCIS ELLINGWOOD ABBOTT, 
PHILIP READE, U. S. A., 
THOMAS TALBOT, 
GEORGE REED RICHARDSON, 
HENRY DEXTER WARREN. 

Alternates. 
Hon. OLIVER AMES, 

Rev. EDWARD EVERETT HALE, D. D., LL. D., 
Hon. WILLIAM FRANKLIN DRAPER, 
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN STEVENS, 
JOHN HOFFMAN COLLAMON. 



Total Membership, 302. 

5 ^''^ 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF COLORADO. 

Instituted February 22, 1892. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

JAMES BENTON GRANT, Denver. 

Vice-President. 

SANDFORD CHARLES HINSDALE, Denver. 

Secretary. 

PERSIFOR MARSDEN COOKE, M. D., 1290 Race Street, Denver. 

Ti'easurer. 

WILLIAM DAVID TODD, Box 440, Denver. 

Registrar. 

THOMAS HENRY EDSALL, Colorado Springs. 

Chaplain. 

Rev. FRANKLIN SPENCER SPALDING, Denver. 



Board of Managers. 

THE OFFICERS, ex officio, 

NATHANIEL PETER HILL, 

Rt. Rev. JOHN FRANKLIN SPALDING, D. D., 

ROGER WILLIAMS WOODBERRY, 

JOHN BOYD VROOM, 

GEORGE WEBSTER PEIRCE, 

JOHN LLOYD McNEIL, 

SAMUEL WILEY BELFORD, 

HERMAN CHARLES JOY, 

REGINALD HEBER SMITH. 



Delegates to the General Society. 
WILLIAM GARRIT FISHER, 
Lieut.-Col. ALLAN HYRE JACKSON, U. S. A., 
WILLIAM HENRY BRYANT, 
FREDERICK JONES BANCROFT, M. D., 
LUTHER HALSEY WYGANT, Jb. 

Alternates. 
ROBERT BAILEY, 
GEORGE GRAY SPEER, 
ORLANDO BLODGET WILLCOX, 
PATTERSON CONN FISHER, 
FRANCIS WHEELER TUPPER. 



Total Membership, 55* 

(66) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF MARYLAND. 

Organized April 11, 1892. 
Incorporated under the Laws of the State of Maryland, April 13, 1892. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

Hon. JOHN LEE CARROLL, Ellicott City. 

Vice-President. 

McHENRY HOWARD, Central Savings Bank Building, Baltimore. 

Secretary. 

ROBERT RIDDELL BROWN, 213 St. Paul Street, Baltimore. 

Treasurer. 

WILLIAM BOWLY WILSON, 216 E. Baltimore Street, Baltimore. 

Pegistrar. 

HENRY OLIVER THOMPSON, 206 Courtland Street, Baltimore. 

Historian. 

CLAYTON COLMAN HALL, 10 South Street, Baltimore. 

Chaplain. 

Rev. WILLIAM MEADE DAME, 1409 Bolton Street, Baltimore. 



Board of Managers. 

MOZART WILLIAM HAYDEN, WILLIAM FAIRFIELD LOCKWOOD, M. D., 

WILMOT JOHNSON, CHARLES THOMAS CRANE, 

CHARLES O'DONNELL LEE, .JOHN THOMSON MASON, R., 

WILLIAM HALL HARRIS. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

JOHN SELDEN SAUNDERS, WILLIAM BOWLY WILSON, 

THOMAS WILLIAM HALL, DANIEL COIT OILMAN, LL. D., 

OGDEN ARTHUR KIRKLAND. 

Alternates. 

EUGENE FAUNTLEROY CORDELL, M. D., JAMES WILSON PATTERSON, 

GEORGE THORN BURG MACAULAY GIBSON, JULIAN HENRY LEE, 
GEORGE SOMERVILLE JACKSON. 



Total Membership, io8. 

(67) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF MINNESOTA. 

Instituted Apkii, 17, 1893. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 
CHARLES PHELPS NOYES, St. Paul. 

Vice-President, 
Right Reverend HENRY BENJAMIN WHIPPLE, D. D., LL. D. (Cantab.), Faribault, 

Bishop of Minnesota. 

Secretary, 
RUKARD HURD, No. 32 E. Fourth Street, St. Paul. 

Treasurer. 
GEORGE C. SQUIRES, St. Paul. 

Registrar, 
Captain EDWARD CORNING, St. Paul. 



Board of Managers. 
Captain W. C. BUTLER, U. S. A., 
W. C. EDGAR, 
JOSEPH E. McWILLIAMS, 
W. H. LIGHTNER, 
T. C. FIELD, 
R. B. C. BEMENT. 



Chaplain. 
Rev. EDWARD P. INGERSOLL, D. D., St. Paul. 



Delegates to the General Society. 
RUKARD HURD, 
HAZEN J. BURTON, 
LUTHER S. CUSHING. 



Total Membership, 65. 

(68) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF CALIFORNIA. 

Instituted May 8, 1893. Incorporated May 15, 1893. 



OFFICERS. 

President, 

HOLDRIDGE OZRO COLLINS, Los Angeles. 

Vice-President. 

Major WILLIAM ANTHONY ELDERKIN, U. S. A., Los Angeles. 

Secretary. 
ARTHUR BURNETT BENTON, 114 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles. 

Treasurer. 

JOHNSTONE JONES, Los Angeles. 

Historian. 

JAMES MONROE ALLEN, San Francisco. 

Registrar. 

EDWARD THOMAS HARDEN, Los Angeles. 

Marshal. 

FRANK CLARKE PRESCOTT, Redlands. 

Chaplain. 

Rev. JOHN GRAY, Los Angeles. 



Board op Managers. 
HOLDRIDGE OZRO COLLINS, ARTHUR BURNETT BENTON, 

Ma J. WILLIAM ANTHONY ELDERKIN, U. S. A., JOHNSTONE JONES, 
EDWARD THOMAS HARDEN. 



Delegates to the General Society. 
HOLDRIDGE OZRO COLLINS, 

Major WILLIAM ANTHONY ELDERKIN, U. S. A., 
JAMES MORTIMER MONTGOMERY, 
SPENCER ROANE THORPE, 
JOSIAH ALONZO OSGOOD. 

Alternates. 
JAMES MONROE ALLEN, EDWARD THOMAS HARDEN, 

WILLIAM CLEVELAND AIKEN, WILLIS PARRIS, 

FRANK CLARKE PRESCOTT. 



Total Membership, 47. 

(69) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF OHIO. 

Incorporated May 2, 1893. Organized May 9, 1893. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

FRANK JOHNSTON JONES, Cincinnati. 

First Vice-President. 
GEORGE ELTWEED POMEROY, Toledo. 

Second Vice-President. 
ASA SMITH BUSHNELL, Springfield. 

Third Vice-President. 
CHRISTOPHER CHAMPLIN WAITE, Columbus. 

Fourth Vice-President. 
JOHN WHITTLESEY WALTON, Cleveland. 

Secretary. 
ACHILLES HENRY PUGH, 1265^ Walnut Street, Cincinnati. 

Treasurer. 
RALPH PETERS, Cincinnati. 

Historian. 
Db. gust a V us SCOTT FRANKLIN, Chillicothe. 

Registrar. 
JOHN MARSHALL NEWTON, Cincinnati. 

Chaplain. 
Rev. DUDLEY WARD RHODES, Cincinnati. 



Board of Managers. 
JEPTHA GARRARD, ASA BUSHNELL MORGAN, 

Dr. JOSEPH E. BOYLAN, Captain THOMAS GERRY TOWNSEND, 

Dr. HERMAN J. GROESBECK, PERIN LANGDON, 

GEORGE MERRELL, CHARLES ANDERSON, 

ANTHONY HOWARD HINKLE. 



Delegates to the Generai, Society. 
SAMUEL MORSE FELTON, Dr. ARCHIBALD L CARSON, 

BIRCHARD AUSTIN HAYES, EDWARD LOWELL ANDERSON, 

DOUGLAS PUTNAM, ACHILLES HENRY PUGH, 

RALPH PETERS, EPHRIAM CUTLER DAW^ES. 



Total Membership, 146. 

(70) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 

Instituted May 24, 1893. 
Incorporated under the Laws of the State op Connecticut, September 7, 1893. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

Hon. morgan GARDNER BULKELEY, Hartford. 

Vice-President. 

Hon. DANIEL NASH MORGAN, Treasurer of the United States. 

Secretary. 

CYRUS SHERWOOD BRADLEY, Southport. 

Assistant Secretary, 

ABRAM BALDWIN STURGES, M. D., Southport. 

Treasurer. 

Colonel HENRY WALTON WESSELLS, C. N. G., Litchfield. 

Registrar. 

JESUP WAKEMAN, Southport. 

Chaplain. 

Rev. N. ELLSWORTH CORNWALL, Stratford. 



Board of Managers. 
SATTERLEE SWARTWOUT, SIMON COUCH SHERWOOD, 

WILLIAM FREEMAN FRENCH, M. D., ROBERT CLARK MORRIS, D. C. L., 

Colonel GEORGE BLISS SANFORD, JOHN EDWARD HEATON, 

AUGUSTUS FLOYD DELAFIELD, ALBERT PORTER BRADSTREET, 

OLIVER TAYLOR SHERWOOD. 



Delegates to the General Society. 
Rev. ALEXANDER HAMILTON, JESUP WAKEMAN, 

SATTERLEE SWARTWOUT, Hon. MORGAN GARDNER BULKELEY, 

ROBERT PEEL WAKEMAN. 

Alternates. 
AUGUSTUS FLOYD DELAFIFLD, Rev. N. ELLSWORTH CORNWALL, 

ROBERT CLARK MORRIS, D. C. L., WILLIAM FREEMAN FRENCH, M. D., 

CYRUS SHERWOOD BRADLEY. 



Total Membership, 58. 

(71) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, 

Organized Junk 19, 1893. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 
Reverend HENRY EMERSON HOVEY, Portsmouth. 

Vice-President, 
ALEXANDER HAMILTON CAMPBELL, Concord. 

Secretai-y. 
THOMAS E. O. MARVIN, Portsmouth. 

Treasurer. 
STEPHEN DECATUR, Portsmouth. 

Pegislrar. 
HARRY B. CILLEY, Manchester. 

Historian. 
Professor RAPHAEL PUMPELLY, Dublin. 

Chaplain. 
Rev. ALFRED LANGDON ELWYN, Portsmouth. 



Board op Managers. 
SAMUEL S. GREEN, Chairman. 
THOMAS E. O. MARVIN, 
HARRY BOUTON CILLEY, 
ALEXANDER HAMILTON CAMPBELL, 
STEPHEN DECATUR, 
Prof. RAPHAEL PUMPELLY, 
Rev. ALFRED LANGDON ELWYN, 
MARCUS M. C0LLI8. 



Delegates to the General Society. 
Rev. HENRY E. HOVEY, 
STEPHEN DECATUR, 
Rev. ALFRED LANGDON ELWYN, 
HARRY BOUTON CILLEY. 



Total Membership, 14. 

(72) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 



STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA. 

Instituted October 24, 1893. Organized November 21, 1893. 
Incorporated under the Laws of the State of North Carolina, January 8, 1894. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

Hon. ELIAS CARR, 

Governor of North Carolina. 

Vice-President. 
Hon. KEMP P. BATTLE, LL. D., Chapel Hill. 

Secretary. 
MARSHALL DeLANCEY HAYWOOD, Raleigh. 

Registrar. 
Prof. D. H. HILL, Raleigh. 

Treasurer. 
Dr. H. B. battle, Raleigh. 

Chaplain. 
Rev. ROBERT BRENT DRANE, D. D., Edenton. 



Board of Managers. 
SAMUEL A'COURT ASHE, Chairman. 
THE OFFICERS, ex officio, BOSWORTH CLIFTON BECKWITH, 

ALEXANDER QUARLES HOLLADAY, GRAHAM DAVES, 
THOMAS STEPHEN KENAN, JOSEPH DOLBY MYERS, 

FRANK BATTLE DANCY, ALPHONSO CALHOUN AVERY, LL. D., 

PETER EVANS HINES, M. D. 



Delegates to the General Society. 
ALPHONSO CALHOUN AVERY, LL. D., MARSHALL DeLANCEY HAYWOOD, 
BOSWORTH CLIFTON BECKWITH, GEORGE BRADBURN CURTIS, 

COLLIER COBB. 

Alternates. 
ROBERT BRENT DRANE, D. D., FRANK BATTLE DANCY, 

JAMES DODGE GLENN, WILLIAM KEARNEY CARR, 

DANIEL HARVEY HILL. 



Total Membership, 27. 

(73) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF ILLINOIS. 

Instituted December 4, 1893. 
Incorporated under the Laws of the State of Illinois, January 13, 1894. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 
Rev. WALTER DELAFIELD, 4333 Ellis Avenue, Chicago. 

Vice-Pi-esident. 

THOMAS FLOYD-JONES, 367 Wabash Avenue, Chicago. 

Secretary. 

ROBERT PATTERSON BENEDICT, 19 Wabash Avenue, Chicago. 

Assistant Secretary. 

ROY SMITH BURKHART, 19 Wabash Avenue, Chicago. 

Treasurer. 

JAMES FRANK KELLEY, 117 Monroe Street, Chicago. 

Chaplain. 

Rev. THADDEUS ALEXANDER SNIVELY, The Piazza, Lincoln Park, Chicago. 

Registrar. 

RICHARD HOPPIN WYMAN, Hartford Building, Chicago. 

Histoi%an. 

HARRISON KELLEY, 99 Randolph Street, Chicago. 



Board of Managers. 
Rev. WALTER DELAFIELD, THOMAS FLOYD-JONES, 

J. FRANK KELLEY, RICHARD HOPPIN WYMAN, 

WALTER CHANNING WYMAN, Rrv. THADDEUS ALEXANDER SNIVELY, 

JOHN CROCKER FOOTE, ROBERT PATTERSON BENEDICT, 

HENRY WALBRIDGE DUDELY, Rt. Rev. CHARLES REUBEN HALE, 

ARTHUR LEFFINGWELL, FRANK RHEES SEELYE, 

S. CLIFFORD PAYSON, DANIEL CHARLES DAGGETT, 

ONINGTON LUNT COMINGS. 



Delegates to the General Society. 
JAMES FRANK KELLEY, THOMAS FLOYD-JONES, 

WALTER CHANNING WYMAN, ARTHUR LEFFINGWELL, 

S. CLIFFORD PAYSON. 

Alternates. 
JOHN CROCKER FOOTE, HARRIS ANSEL WHEELER, 

GEORGE SAMUEL MARSH, Rt. Rev. CHARLES REUBEN HALE, 

HOMER WISE. 



Total Membership, 105. 

(74) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF MISSOURI. 

Instituted February 22, 1894. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

Rt. Rev. DANIEL SYLVESTER TUTTLE, D. D., S. T. D., St. Louis. 

Vice-President. 

Hon. henry HITCHCOCK, St. Louis. 

Second Vice-President. 

Hon. EDWARD HERRICK ALLEN, Kansas City. 

Secretary. 

HENRY CADLE, Bethany. 

Assistant Secretary. 

EWING McGREADY SLOAN, St. Louis. 

Registrar. 

General JAMES HARDING, Jefferson City. 

Treasurer. 

HENRY PURKITT WYMAN, St. Louis. 

Chaplain. 

Rev. GEORGE EDWARD MARTIN, St. Louis. 

Historian. 

Prof. ALEXANDER FREDERICK FLEET, A. M., LL. D., Mexico. 

3Iarshal. 
NORRIS BRADFORD GREGG, St. Louis. 



BoAKD OF Managers. 

Rt. Rev. DANIEL SYLVESTER TUTTLE, Hon. HENRY HITCHCOCK, 

Hon. EDWARD HERRICK ALLEN, HENRY CADLE, 

WALLACE DELAFIELD, JAMES LAWRENCE BLAIR, 

Hon. CHAUNCEY FOR WOOD SHULTZ, TRUMAN AUGUSTUS POST, 

ALFRED LEIGHTON HOWE, CURTIS BURNAM ROLLINS. 

WILLIAM BROWN DODDRIDGE, GEORGE AMOS NEWCOMB, 
Hon. JOSEPH VAN CLIEF KARNES. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

Hon. THOMAS ADIEL SHERWOOD, HENRY CADLE, 

ISRAEL PUTNAM DANA, Dr. .JOHN GREEN, 

Hon. JOHN SCOTT HARRISON. 

Alternates. 

Hon. HENRY LITTLETON EDMUNDS, RICHARD GENTRY, 

THOMAS JAMES, GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKER, 

HORATIO DAN WOOD. 



Total Membership, i8o. 

(75) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF FLORIDA. 

Organized April, 1894. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

JOSEPH GASTON BULLOCK, M. D. 

First Vice-President. 

Dr. GEORGE TROUP MAXWELL, Jacksonville. 

Second Vice-President. 

Hon. GEORGE WASHINGTON WYLLY, Fort Reed. 

(Secretory. 

E. M. GILBERT, Jacksonville. 

Assistant Secretary. 

ARCHIBALD HAGUE, Hague. 

Treasurer. 

Dr. CHARLES J. BURROUGHS, Jacksonville. 

Registrar. 

CHARLES D. MILLER, Peoria. 

Surgeon. 

Dr. J. N. D. CLOUD, Newmansville. 

Chaplain. 
Rev. JOHN B. DAVIS, Newmansville. 

Judge Advocate. 

Marshal. 
BAYLIS J. EARLE, Earl ton. 



Delegates to the General Society. 
Dr. JOSEPH G. BULLOCK, 
Dr. GEORGE TROUP MAXWELL, 
Hon. G. W. WYLLY, 
J. C. GETZEN. 



Alternates. 
(Not appointed.) 



Total Membership, 20. 

(76) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF ALABAMA. 

Instituted April 16, 1894. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 
JAMES EDWARD WEBB, Birmingham. 

Vice-President. 
JAMES FRANKLIN JOHNSTON, Birmingham. 

Second Vice-President. 
Dr. FRANK PRINCE, Bessemer. 

Secrelai-y. 
THOMAS McADORY OWEN, Birmingham. 

Jh-easurer. 
WILLIAM P. G. HARDING, Birmingham. 

Assistant Secretary, Registrar and Historian. 
JESSE KILGORE BROCKMAN, Birmingham. 

Surgeon. 
Dr. EDWARD PULASKI LACEY, Bessemer. 

Chaplain. 
Dr. WILLIAM MARMADUKE OWEN, Bessemer. 



Board of Managers. 
JAMES E. WEBB, Chairman. 
WILLIAM HENRY JOHNSTON, M. D., THOMAS M. OWEN, 

ANDREW CHARLES MOORE, Dr. FRANK PRINCE, 

F. W. MOSBY, Dr. WILLIAM M. OWEN, 

JAMES F. JOHNSTON, WILLIAM P. G. HARDING, 

JOSEPH F. JOHNSTON, JESSE K. BROCKMAN, 

Dr. E. p. LACEY. 



Delegates to the General Society. 
WILLIAM BROCKMAN BANKHEAD, WIRT WEBB, 

THOMAS McADORY OWEN, JAMES BRAZER, 

ROBERT DANIEL JOHNSTON. 

Alternates. 

JOHN McQueen, james l. sandefur. 

JAMES E. WEBB, Dr. FRANK PRINCE, 

JOSEPH F. JOHNSTON, ANDREW CHARLES MOORE. 



Total Membership, 26. 

(77) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

m THE 

STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA. 

Instituted April 19, 1894. 
Incorporated under the Laws op the State of West Virginia, Mat 7, 1894. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 
JOHN MARSHALL HAGANS, Morgantown. 

Vice-President. 
JOHN DAILY, Piedmont. 

Secretary. 
HENRY HAYMOND, Clarksburg. 

Treasurer. 
WILLIAM CLARK McGREW, Morgantown. 

Registrar and Historian. 
JOHN GEORGE GITTINGS, Clarksburg. 



Board of Managers. 

JOHN BASSEL, THOMAS MOORE JACKSON, 

CHARLES MATTHEW HART, JOHN B. HART, 

JOHN GEORGE GITTINGS. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

NATHAN GOFF, WILLIAM F. PETERSON, 

CHARLES W. BROCKUNIER, JOSEPH MORELAND. 

Alternates. 
JOHN BASSEL, CHARLES M. HART, 

SAMUEL H. BROCKUNIER, THOMAS M. JACKSON, 

JOHN DAILY. 



Total Membership, 15. 

(78) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF TENNESSEE. 

Organized November 24, 1894. 



OFFICEKS. 

President. 
Col. W. p. WASHBUEN, Knoxville. 

Vice-President. 
C. H. HUDSON, Knoxville. 

Secretary. 
HENRY HUDSON, Knoxville. 

Registrar. 
GEORGE W. HENDERSON, Knoxville. 

Treasurer. 
HORACE VAN DEVENTER, Knoxville. 

Chaplain. 
Rev. J. H. FRAZEE, Knoxville. 



Board of Managers. 

JOSHUA W. CALDWELL, HENRY HUDSON, 

W. P. CHAMBERLAIN, Rev. W. J. MORTON, 

Prof. JOSIAH HOLBROOK, HORACE VAN DEVENTER, 

C. H. HUDSON, J. VAN DEVENTER, 

Col. W. P. WASHBURN. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

HENRY HUDSON, W. P. WASHBURN, 

HORACE VAN DEVENTER, J. W. CALDWELL, 

GEORGE W. HENDERSON, HUGH F. VAN DEVENTER. 



Total Membership, 21. 

(79) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE or SOUTH CAROLINA. 



OFFICERS. 

C. S. GADSDEN, Charleston. 

Vice-President. 
T. PINCKNEY LOWNDES, Charleston. 

Secretary. 
GUSTAVUS M. PINCKNEY, Charleston. 

Treasurer. 
C. C. OLNEY, Charleston. 

Chaplain. 
Rev. JOHN JOHNSON, 53 Church Street, Charleston. 



Board of Managers. 

THE OFFICERS, ex officio, Rev. C. E. CHICHESTER, 

HAWKINS K. JENKINS, ROBERT L. DARGAN, 

JOHN GRIMBALL, EDWARD ANDERSON, 

ZIMMERMAN DAVIS, WILLIAM S. HASTIE, 

FRANK E. TAYLOR, WILLIAM HY. PARKER, Jr. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

T. PINCKNEY LOWNDES, G. M. PINCKNEY, 

HAWKINS K. JENKINS, Rev. JOHN JOHNSON, 

WILLIAM HY. PARKER, Jr. 

Alternates. 
JOHN R. ABNEY, GEORGE W. OLNEY, 

FELIX WARLEY, G. R. GIBSON, 

TALBOT OLYPHANT. 



Total Membership, 42. 

(80) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF KENTUCKY. 

Organized January 26, 1895. 
Incorporated under the Laws of the State of Kentucky, February 9, 1895. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 
LESLIE COMBES, Lexington. 

Vice-President. 
JAMES DUANE LIVINGSTON, Lexington. 

Secretary. 
Prof. WILBUR R. SMITH, Lexington. 

Treasurer. 
LOUIS DES COGNETS, Lexington. 

Megisirar. 
LUCAS BROADHEAD, Spring Station. 

Historian. 
Major H. B. McCLELLAN, Lexington. 

Chaplain. 
Rev. W. S. FULTON, D. D., Lexington. 



Board of Managers. 
JOHN T. SHELLY, LUCAS BROADHEAD, 

Judge O. S. TENNY, LESLIE COMBES, 

LOUIS DES COGNETS, J. D. LIVINGSTON, 

Prof. WILBUR R. SMITH. 



Delegates to the General Society, 
JAMES DUANE LIVINGSTON, LESLIE COMBES, 

WILBUR R. SMITH, Judge GEORGE B. KINKEAD, 

LUCAS BROADHEAD. 

Alternates. 

Judge TENNY, JOHN T. SHELLY, 

Major H. B. McCLELLAN. 



Total Membership, 15. 

6 ^''^ 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF MONTANA. 

Organized February 22, 1895. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 
CHAELES H. BENTON, Great Falls. 

First Vice-President. 
JOHN FRANCIS MERCER, Livingston. 

Second Vice-President. 
ALDEN J. BENNETT, Virginia City. 

Secretary. 
JAMES F. McClelland, Great Falls. 

Historian. 
CHARLES H. ROBINSON, Great Falls. 

Registrar. 
JAMES HORTON RICE, Great Falls. 

Treasurer. 
JAMES MONTGOMERY BURLINGAME, Great Falls. 

Chaplain. 
CHARLES DWIGHT ELIOT, Great Falls. 



Board of Managers. 

JOSEPH OLDS GREGG, FRANK GOLD HOPKINS, 

SAMUEL BOSTWICK ROBBINS. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

(To be appointed.) 



Total Membership, 21. 

(82) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF TEXAS. 

Organized March 12, 1895. 
Incorporated April 19, 1895. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 
C. L. HARWOOD, 106 Soledad Street, San Antonio. 

Vice-President. 
W. J. BATTLE, Austin. 

Secrelary. 
H. M. AUBREY, San Antonio. 

Treasurer, 
JOHN A. GREEN, Jr., San Antonio. 

Registrar. 
REDFORD SHARPE, San Antonio. 

Chaplain. 
Rev. JUNIUS B. FRENCH, Fort Worth. 



Board op Managers. 

W. J. BATTLE, S. M. FINLEY, 

H. M. AUBREY, REDFORD SHARPE, 

G. S. SIMONS, W. P. FINLEY, 

HENRY TERRELL, JOHN A. GREEN, Jr, 

C. L. HARWOOD. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

(To be appointed.) 



Total Membership, 12. 

(83) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF VIRGINIA. 

Organized June 7, 1895. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 
JAMES ALSTON CABELL. 

First Vice-President. 
FRANCIS L. SMITH. 

Second Vice-President. 
Dr. W. C. N. RANDOLPH. 

/Secretary. 
R. T. W. DUKE, Jr. 

Registrar. 
CHARLES WASHINGTON COLEMAN. 

Treasurer. 
ROBERT LANCASTER WILLIAMS. 

Historian. 
J. R. V. DANIEL. 



Delegates to the General Society, 

R. T. W. DUKE, Jr., JAMES ALSTON CABELL, 

JOHN SKELTON WILLIAMS, WILLIS B. SMITH, 

FRANCIS L. SMITH. 

Alternates. 

ROBERT LANCASTER WILLIAMS, CHARLES WASHINGTON COLEMAN, 

WILLIAM CHASE MORTON, LYON G. TYLER, 

GEORGE PRESTON COLEMAN. 



Total Membership, 19. 

(84) 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF WASHINGTON. 

Organized March 26, 1895. 
Incorporated under the Laws of the State of Washington, March 20, l.S!)r. 



OFFICEES. 

President, 
JOSIAH COLLINS, Seattle. 

Vice-President. 
CHARLES KING, Tacoma. 

Secretary, 
GEORGE DONWORTH, Seattle. 

Beffistrar, 
LIVINGSTON BOYD STEDMAN, Seattle. 

Treasurer, 
CHARLES TALLMADGE CONOVER, Seattle. 

Chaplain, 
ROBERT BROOKE ALBERTSON, Seattle. 



Board of Managers. 

THE AFOREGOING OFFICERS, ex officio, with 

WILLIAM BROWNELL GOODWIN, GEORGE B. BLANCH ARD, 

CHARLES EDWARD SHEPARD. 



Total Membership, lo. 

(85) 




GENERAL SOQETY 



Sons of the Revolution. 



OCTOBER, J 896. 



Gift 



i io'09 



In the matter of the Proposed Consolidation of the 
Society of the Sons of the Revolution and the 
Society of the Sons of the American Revolution: 

NOTE OF EXPLANATION. 

The following correspondence, read in connection with- 
the resolution passed by the General Society of the Sons of 
the Revolution at their meeting held in Savannah on the 
20th of April, 1896, will in a great measure explain itself. 

It is proper, however, to state that your General Presi- 
dent, before sending any reply to the first communication 
of the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, con- 
sulted in New York a number of the General Officers of our 
society as to the character of such a reply, and they were 
unanimously of the opinion that the answer herewith sub- 
mitted and marked No. i, was entirely within the instruc- 
tions given to us in Savannah, and contained everything 
which we were authorized to say. 

The replies to the second and third communications were, , 
after consultation, naturally based upon the first, and having 
once concluded that we could not exceed our instructions, it 
was impossible for us afterwards to appoint committees who 
would enter upon the wide field of discussion for the forma- - 
tion of a new Constitution without the express authority or 
consent of our Society. 

JOHN LEE CARROLL, 

General President. 

September, 1896. 



The General Secretary of the Sons of the Revolution 
transmitted to the Secretary General of the Sons of the Ameri- 
can Revolution the following preample and resolutions, pro- 
posed by Mr. Francis Ellingwood Abbott, Massachusetts 
Society, seconded by Mr. Robert Olyphant, New York 
Society, which were adopted at the meeting of the former 
Society, held April 20, 1896 : 

Whereas^ The existence of two separate societies, with 
identical objects and nearly identical names, where one 
strong society alone ought to exist — to wit : Sons of the 
Revolution and Sons of the American Revolution — is an 
anomaly which perplexes the public mind, excites distrust 
of both societies, provokes injurious comment, alienates the 
sympathy of very many descendants of Revolutionary an- 
cestors whose aid is needed, and seriously interferes with 
the patriotic work to which both these societies are sincerely 
and equally devoted ; and 

WJiereas^ Consolidation of these two societies in a single 
society, on the basis of a Constitution and Plan of Union 
which had been previously agreed upon at separate meet- 
ings of the General Society of Sons of the Revolution and 
the National Society of Sons of the American Revolution in 
the City of New York, February 16, 1893, failed on account 
of disagreement as to the submission of the original creden- 
tials and applications of all the members of all their respec- 
tive State Societies to a fresh examination and revision, in 
accordance with the provisions of the new Constitution 
agreed upon, as a necessary preliminary to enrolling mem- 
bers of the new consolidated society; and 

Whereas^ The necessity of this preliminary' examination 
and revision, if the proposed new society is to be exclusively 
composed, and known to be exclusively composed, of actual 
descendants of Revolutionary ancestors, ought to be self 
evident; therefore. 

Resolved^ That we, the General Society of Sons of the 
Revolution, convened in Savannah on the 20th of April 
1896, hereby proffer, sincerely and fraternally, a standing 
invitation to the National Society of Sons of the American 
Revolution to unite with us in a single General Society, ac- 



cording to the terms of union which were harmoniously 
agreed upon at the separate meetings of the two existing 
Societies in New York, February i6, 1893, as amended by 
striking therefrom the third paragraph of Article III, which 
provided for the admission of collaterals ; provided^ that 
prior to such actual union, the membership rolls of all the 
State Societies of both the existing societies, together with 
all the original credentials and applications on which mem- 
bership has been granted, shall be submitted for fresh ex- 
amination and revision to a competent and disinterested 
committee, so constituted by mutual agreement of the gene- 
ral officers as to command the entire confidence of both the 
uniting societies ; and provided^ further, that this committee 
shall be empowered and instructed to erase the name of any 
member, on the roll of any State Society, by whose creden- 
tials and application it would appear that he is not entitled 
to membership under such requirements of Article III of the 
Constitution agreed upon at New York, February 16, 1893, 
as relate to direct lineal descendants ; to the end that mem- 
bership in the Consolidated Society shall be indubitable 
proof of descent from one or more revolutionary ancestors. 

Resolved^ That the Secretary of the General Society of 
Sons of the Revolution be instructed to transmit a copy of 
these resolutions to the Secretary of the National Society of 
Sons of the American Revolution, with an expression of our 
liope that they will be received in the same frank and kindly 
spirit in which they are sent. 

I hereby certify that the foregoing is a correct copy of the 
original. 

JAMES MORTIMER MONTGOMERY, 

General Secretary. 



In reply thereto the General Secretary Sons of the Revo- 
lution received from the Secretary General Sons of the Amer- 
ican Revolution the following preamble and resolutions, 
adopted by the last named Society at its meeting held April 
30, 1896: 

IVJiereas^ the National Society of the Sons of the Ameri- 
can Revolution note, with sincere gratification, the growing 

3 



sentiment in favor of a iniion with the Society of the Sons 
of the Revolution, upon terms which shall be well considered 
and equitable, and which shall tend to promote the honor, 
dignity, and largest usefulness of the societies and the patriotic 
and public spirited objects for which both are organized ; and 

IVJiereas^ the General Society of the Sons of the Revolu- 
tion, in triennial meeting assembled in the City of Savannah, 
Ga., April 20th Instant, did adopt resolutions extending a 
sincere and fraternal invitation to the National Society of the 
Sons of the American Revolution to unite with them in a 
single society ; and 

Whereas^ the National Society of the Sons of the Ameri- 
can Revolution is heartily, sincerely, and fraternally desirous 
of a consolidation of the two societies, upon a well-considered 
basis, and is anxious to submit its rolls of membership to a 
most rigorous and searching examination by a competent 
and disinterested tribunal, in order that it may, once for all, 
in the eyes of all men, supply the indubitable proof of the 
eligibility of all its members, as lineal descendants of revolu- 
tionary ancestors ; now, therefore, be it 

Resolved^ by the National Society of the Sons of the 
American Revolution, in annual congress assembled in the 
city of Richmond, Va., April 30th, 1896. That we do hereby 
send our most fraternal and cordial greetings to the General 
Society of the Sons of the Revolution, and declare without 
reservation our strong, sincere desire for a consolidation of 
the two societies into a single society upon a well-considered 
basis of union. 

Resolved^ That we do hereby instruct the general officers 
of this society to submit the membership rolls and the original 
credentials and applications, on which membership has 
been granted, for a fresh examination to a competent and 
disinterested committee, so constituted by mutual agree- 
ment of the general officers of both societies as to com- 
mand the entire confidence of both societies, said committee 
to indicate the person or persons in each society who shall 
not have indubitable proof of lineal descent from a revolu- 
tionary ancestor, in accordance with the plan of consolida- 
tion, agreed to by the committees of conference in 1893, but 
now voluntarily amended by the Society of the Sons of the 



Revolution by omitting the paragraph which provides for 
the admission of collaterals ; and the National Society of the 
Sons of the American Revolution does hereby pledge itself 
to erase from its rolls of membership the names of all per- 
sons indicated by said committee as not having indubitable 
proof of lineal descent. 

Resolved^ That we hereby empower the general oflEicers of 
this society to appoint a committee of able, competent, and 
disinterested men, who shall confer with a like committee 
of equal size, appointed by the general officers of the -Sons 
of the Revolution, to agree upon a basis for the union of the 
two societies ; to the end that said plan of union, together 
with the report of the Committee on Revision of the Mem- 
bership Rolls, may promptly be transmitted by the general 
officers of both societies to their respective State societies 
for approval, so that when a majority of the State societies 
of each organization shall have approved the same, said 
general officers may cause a special congress of the united 
societies to be elected upon the basis of the new constitution 
to form a national organization. And, further, we do hereby 
pledge the National Society of the Sons of the American 
Revolution heartily and sincerely, to labor for the removal of 
■every possible cause of disagreement between the two socie- 
ties and to effect a satisfactory union at the earliest possible 
date. 

Resolved^ That the President General and the Secretary 
General of this society are instructed immediately to com- 
municate this preamble and accompanying resolutions to 
the officers of the General Society of the Sons of the Revo- 
lution, with the assurance of our fraternal regard, and our 
desire that a union of the two societies may speedily be 
•effected. 

HORACE PORTER, 
(Seal.) President General, 

FRANKLIN MURPHY, 

Secretary General. 

I hereby certify that the foregoing is a correct copy of the 
original. 

FRANKLIN MURPHY, 

Secretary General. 



The following correspondence has also been had : 

I. 

146 Broadway, 
New York, May 25, 1896. 
Franklin Murphy, Esq., 

Secretary General Sons of the American Revolution, 
No. 143 Chestnut Street, Newark, N. J. 

Sir: 

I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your 
favor of May 9th, enclosing certain resolutions which were 
unanimously adopted by the congress of the Sons of the 
American Revolution, assembled in Richmond, Va., on the 
30th day of April, 1896. 

In reply to your communication I have been instructed by 
the General Officers of the Society of Sons of the Revolution 
to say, that they appreciate most highly the earnest desire 
for a fraternal union of the two societies as expressed by the 
resolutions of the National Society of Sons of the American 
Revolution, and that the General Officers of the Society of 
Sons of the Revolution, under the authority of the resolu- 
tions adopted by that society at its meeting held April 20th 
ultimo, (a copy of which is enclosed) are prepared to appoint 
an able and disinterested committee to examine the creden- 
tials of the members of both societies. 

I am instructed further to say that when this committee 
has completed its work as to the revision of the lists, and 
when the names of those in either society who have been 
found disqualified for membership have been erased from 
the rolls, the General Officers of this society will be prepared 
to unite in a call for a congress of the two societies, so that 
they may form one great national organization upon the 
basis of union and by the adoption of the Constitution agreed 
upon by the representatives of both societies on February 
16, 1893, as amended by the General Society of Sons of the 
Revolution at its triennial meeting in Savannah, on the 20th 
day of April, 1896. 

I have the honour to remain your obedient servant, 

JAMES MORTIMER MONTGOMERY, 

Generai, Secretary. 



11. 

Newark, May 29, 1896. 
James M. Montgomery, Esq., 

General Secretary, Sons of tlie Revolution, 
56 Wall Street, Room 5, New York. 
Dear Sir : 

I have already had the honor to acknowledge the receipt 
of your communication of May 25, 1896, which I took 
pleasure in submitting to the General Officers of this Society. 
They instruct me to say in reply that they will be happy to 
meet the General Officers of your Society at the Waldorf 
hotel, at 3.30 P. M., on Wednesday, June 3, or any other 
afternoon of next week which your Officers may find more 
convenient, for the purpose of selecting by mutual agree- 
ment a committee to examine the credentials of the mem- 
bers of both Societies as contemplated in the resolutions 
adopted by the two bodies ; that upon receiving its report 
they will strike from the rolls the names of those who may 
be found to be disqualified for membership, and that they 
will be prepared to form one organization upon a basis of 
union to be mutually agreed upon by a new conference com- 
mittee as proposed in the resolutions adopted by the Sons of 
the American Revolution, at Richmond, Va. 

I am instructed further to call attention to the fact that 
no mention is made in your communication of the provision 
embodied in the resolutions of this Society for the appoint- 
ment of " A committee of able, competent and disinterested 
men, who shall confer with a like committee of equal size, ap- 
pointed by the General Officers of the Sons of the Revolution 
to agree upon said basis of union." Our officers would be 
glad to be informed whether it is the intention of the Officers 
of your Society to appoint such a committee. 

It is thought that the constitution prepared and submitted 
by the committees of the two Societies on February 16, 1893, 
and which failed of adoption, may be made more satisfactory 
by new committees, considering the fact that both Societies 
have undergone changes, contain many new members un- 
familiar with the proceedings of 1893, and have learned 
much from experience since that time as to the requirements 
which should be embodied in an instrument so important as 



that which is to constitute the organic law of a large and im- 
portant consolidated society. Strength is given to this belief 
by the fact that your society has already suggested an im- 
portant amendment, namely, prohibiting the admission of 
collaterals, which will be accepted gladly by this society, as 
such a prohibition has always existed in the constitution 
of the Sons of the American Revolution, and by the further 
fact that the proposed constitution of 1893 contained con- 
flicting language and provisions which neither society pre- 
sumably would now want to have incorporated in the per- 
manent law which is to govern the joint society. 

The provision for the appointment of such committees by 
the two societies was embodied in the resolutions passed by 
•■this society, for the reason that it was supposed that it would 
be more satisfactory to both societies to have a full discussion 
of the subject and ascertain whether there are not advan- 
tageous changes which could be made that would meet with 
.the assent of the two organizations. 

I am further instructed to convey to you the assurance that 
>'Our General Officers are willing and anxious to unite with 
you in taking all steps, within their power, to promote the 
icnuch desired object of a permanent union. 

Yours truly, 

FRANKLIN MURPHY, 

Secretary General. 



III. 

New York, June 8, 1896. 
;Franklin Murphy, Esq., 

Secretary General Sons of the American Revolution, 
No. 143 Chestnut street, Newark, N. J. 

Dear Sir: 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your 
communication of the 29th of May, 1896, in reply to my letter 
of the 25th ultimo. 

I am instructed by the General Officers of the Society of 
the Sons of the Revolution to say that there appears to 
-have been a misunderstanding on the part of the Society of 

8 



the Sons of the American Revolution as to the meaning of 
the resolutions which were passed by this society on the 
20tli of April last at Savannah. I take the liberty of enclos- 
ing a copy of those resolutions for closer examination. 

You will see by the terms of the first resolution, that a 
standing invitation is tendered to the Society of the Sons ot 
the American Revolution " to unite with us in a single 
society according to the terms of union which were unani- 
mously agreed upon at the separate meetings of the two 
existing societies in New York^ February i6, 1893, as 
amended by striking therefrom the third paragraph ot 
Article III, which provided for the admission of collaterals." 

The action of the Society of the Sons of the Revolution in 
their reply of the 25th of May, 1896, was limited by the terms 
and scope of the resolution adopted at Savannah, and they 
felt that they had no power to exceed the instructions which 
were given to them at that meeting. They therefore ex- 
pressed their readiness to appoint a committee of disinter- 
ested gentlemen to examine the credentials of the members 
of both societies, as this was the only committee which they 
were authorized to name, 

I am instructed further to say, that however opinions 
may differ as to the value of the terms of agreement which 
were adopted in February, 1893, it must be remembered that 
those terms were the result of many conferences of the rep- 
resentatives of both societies, and were supposed at the time 
to cover every point about which in future any dispute could 
arise. 

The meeting of two committees now, as proposed by the 
Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, to consider 
a " basis of union," would necessarily open up the whole 
subject, as to name, insignia, qualifications, etc., etc., all ot 
which the Society of the Sons of the Revolution looked upon 
as concluded by the terms of agreement adopted in 1893. 

This society therefore regrets very much that the union 
of the two societies should now be made by your society to 
depend upon the adoption of a " new basis," when they had 
considered those important questions settled in 1893. 

In conclusion I would respectfully repeat that the power 
of the General Officers of this Society is limited by the reso- 



lution passed at Savannah, and they have no authority to 
appoint any committee but that which provides for the ex- 
amination of the credentials of the members of both societies. 
I have the honor to be your obedient servant, 

JAMES MORTIMER MONTGOMERY, 

General Secretary. 

IV. 

Newark, N. J., July 28, 1896. 
James Mortimer Montgomery, Esq., 

General Secretary, Sons of the Revolution. 

Dear Sir: 

I have the honor now to reply to your favor of June 8th, 
which I took pleasure in submitting to the General Officers 
of this society. 

They have instructed me to say that there was no mis- 
understanding on their part as to the wording of the resolu- 
tions which were passed by your society at Savannah, but 
the propositions expressed in our communication to you of 
May 29th were made in the hope that under the circum- 
stances, and in consideration of the general desire for prompt 
action in regard to union, your officers would take the re- 
sponsibility of acceding to the appointment of a committee 
to meet a committee named by this society to discuss the 
most important of all questions — a fair basis of union and to 
see whether such committees could not by mutual agreement 
unite upon a plan which could at least be submitted to the 
societies for their action. 

The resolutions of your society adopted at Savannah 
looked to the formation of a single society, upon the tenns 
of union set forth in the proposed constitution of February 
16, 1893, with an amendment thereto. It was, therefore, 
naturally supposed that as your society had made an amend- 
ment to that document without consultation with this society, 
the privilege should be accorded to this society of taking 
steps looking to the making of other amendments in con- 
sultation with your society. 

The Savannah resolutions speak of the constitution of 1893 
as having been adopted by the societies whereas the proceed- 



ings show that that constitution failed to be adopted. Some 
of the reasons for believing that it is necessary for both socie- 
ties to have conference committees take up the plan of 
reorganization anew, are as follows : 

The proposed constitution of 1893 was prepared when the 
societies were small and without large experience in the 
means of carrying out the purposes of a great national 
patriotic organization. Of the present members, one-half 
perhaps, of each society have joined since the proceedings of 
1893 and it would seem fair that they should have a right to 
be heard in a matter of such importance as a constitution 
for the goverment of a permanent union of these organiza- 
tions. 

The proposed constitution of 1893 is so defective that it is 
believed that your officers will agree that a large Society could 
not possibly work successfully under its provision. For in- 
stance, the last paragraph of Article III states that the 
Board of Managers of each State Society shall have full and 
exclusive power to determine the qualifications of applicants 
for membership, with power to expel or reject all applica- 
tions. Article VIII says that the General Society shall have 
power to admit State Societies and determine all questions 
affecting the qualifications of membership which may by 
proper memorial be presented for consideration. This lan- 
guage is confusing and seems to be contradictory. 

Besides, that constitution makes no provision for the filing 
of a copy of the credentials of members with the Registrar 
General of the National Society and does not sufficiently de- 
fine his duties or give him enough power to fix his responsi- 
bility in passing upon the validity of credentials. It pre- 
scribes the form of a seal which we are informed was long 
ago adopted by the Washington Continental Guard of New 
York City, which, having used the seal for many years, 
would apparently be entitled to continual use of the same 
without infringement. 

It names the last Wednesday in April as the day for the 
annual meeting when it has been the custom of both 
societies to meet on some patriotic anniversary, which gives 
a meaning and a purpose to the occasion. 

It also provides that the larger Society shall take the exact 



name of the smaller Society, and it is assumed that that 
would mean coming under the charter of the latter Society, 
and be a complete and absolute absorption by one Society of 
the other, instead of a union of the two. The Society of the 
Sons of the American Revolution has never intimated, and 
does not now even suggest that its name be adopted by the 
joint Society, but thinks that possibly some equally good 
title, not the exact name of either Society, might be accept- 
able to both; for instance, the Society of the Revolution or 
the Society of the American Revolution. The adoption of 
some such name would be following the almost universal 
custom in naming patriotic Societies, among which may be 
named the Society of the Cincinnati ; the Society of the Col- 
onial Wars ; the Society of the Colonial Dames ; the Society 
of Foreign Wars; the Society of the Army of the Potomac, 
etc., etc. There are many who think there is more dignity 
attached to these names from the fact that they do not con- 
tain the word " Sons," a term which seems to suggest that 
the organization is composed of juveniles instead of adults, 
like the Junior Guards, Junior Veterans, Children of the 
Revolution, etc. It is advisable also to consider the subject 
of name for the reason that the plan of consolidation should 
provide for the largest possible usefulness and grandeur of 
the united Societies. The Sons of the American Revolution 
already have a Society in the new Republic of Hawaii, where 
no Society of this class could probably exist under the name 
simply of "Sons of the Revolution." It is entirely practic- 
able to form branch Societies in other foreign lands, if the 
title be specific in indicating that it is the American Revolu- 
tion, from which eligibility is derived. 

Again, the constitution of 1893 i^iakes no provision for 
organizing chapters in the different states. The formation 
of chapters is becoming a prominent feature in the Sons of 
the American Revolution; it does much for the convenience 
of the members and is important as a means of enlarging 
membership. It therefore seems beyond dispute that the 
proposed constitution of 1893, in its present form, is seriously 
defective and obsolete. It seems to be of paramount im- 
portance that an instrument which is to form the organic 
law of a large and influential Society should be prepared be- 



forehand so that the present Societies will know exactly 
what provisions are to govern the new organization. It may 
be said that after the adoption of the constitution it could be 
amended at pleasure by the joint Society, but your officers 
will probably agree with ours that it would be most unfor- 
tunate to have a feeling pervade the minds of the members 
of the Societies that after adopting a constitution embody- 
ing a basis of union there were to be immediate changes made 
in it. In union, upon a comprehensive and complete basis, we 
would hope to adjust all differences and put an end to con- 
troversy, whereas a union upon a basis which would call for 
immediate changes in the Constitution would precipitate dis- 
cussion and sow the seeds of discord. It would also look as 
if a majority might want to overrule the will of a minority, 
would manifest a disposition to continue the idea that there 
had existed two separate Societies and might jeopardize the 
success of the contemplated union. 

While the committee on credentials is performing its 
work, there will be ample time for conference committees to 
discuss a proper and permanent basis of union. If these 
committees could not agree upon a satisfactory plan, there 
would be no harm done, except the loss of time to the in- 
dividuals composing the committee. You will observe that 
this Society is instructed to take such a course by the resolu- 
tions passed at Richmond, and while your General Society 
may not have authorized your committee to proceed so far, 
doubtless if such a course has the approval of your General 
Officers a committee would be willing to discuss the whole 
question in the hope that an agreement for union might be 
reached; in which case such an agreement could be sub- 
mitted to the Congresses of both Societies next Spring, 
unless special Congresses should be called sooner, and, if 
accepted, union could then be had almost at once. It is 
only proper to say that in the opinion of our officers the 
feeling of our Society is that — earnestly and sincerely desir- 
ing union as it does, it nevertheless feels that such a union 
should be upon a basis that would be deemed fair after con- 
sidering all that there is to be presented from the points of 
view and experience of both Societies, and which would in 
the judgment of our most dispassionate and well informed 

13 



members, promote the highest usefulness of the united 
Societies. 

If, however, your Officers decline even to appoint the con- 
ference committee proposed we would be glad to be in- 
formed whether they will under the circumstances wish to 
proceed with the work of scrutinizing the credentials of the 
members in both Societies. If so, our General Officers in- 
struct me to say that they will be most happy to enter at 
once upon that branch of the subject in the hope that the 
eliminating of one point of dispute will bring the two organ- 
izations that much nearer to a union so much desired by all. 

In the present temper of the membership of both Societies, 
it is likely that union will go on piece-meal by the uniting of 
the various state Societies, and it would seem desirable that 
the National Societies should take the matter up more com- 
prehensively and submit some definite plan to the State 
Societies, which, if adopted, would be the means of forming 
a union that would be harmonious, permanent and com- 
plete, and calculated to ensure the highest usefulness of the 
Societies. 

Yours very truly, 

FRANKLIN MURPHY, 

Secretary General. 



V. 

New York, August nth, 1896. 

Franklin Murphy, Esq., 

Secretary General Sons of the American Revolution, 
No. 143 Chestnut street, Newark, N. J. 

Dear Sir: 

I have submitted your communication of the 28th 
of July to our General President, and in reply I am in- 
structed to say, that whatever may be the views of the 
members of the two societies upon the question of framing 
a new Constitution for a great National United Society, the 
General Officers of the Sons of the Revolution are bound to 
consider their power as limited by the resolutions passed at 
Savannah in April last, and have tendered to the Society of 
the Sons of the American Revolution a cordial invitation to 

14 



unite with them upon terms wholly within their instruc- 
tions. This invitation, we now consider, has been rejected 
by your society, and in its place a totally new proposition 
has been submitted to us, upon which yoiir society has been 
authorized to act, and we are invited to co-operate withotU 
the authority of our members. It would be impossible for 
us to take this action, and inasmuch as the examination of 
the credentials of the members of both societies could only 
be of value in case of prospective union, we cannot appre- 
ciate the importance of the appointment of a committee un- 
less we were assured that further steps would be taken by 
your society to correspond to the invitation which has been 
tendered to you. 

I have the honor to be your obedient servant, 

JAMES MORTIMER MONTGOMERY, 

Gkneral Secretary. 



VI. 

Newark, N. J., September 21, 1896. 

James Mortimer Montgomery, Esq., 

General Secretary, Sons of the Revolution. 

Dear Sir : 

I received your communication of August nth, and 
have submitted it to our General Officers. I am instructed 
by them to say in reply that they greatly regret that your 
communication seems to take it for granted that on account 
of a conflict of instructions under which the General Officers 
of our respected Societies are acting, there has been reached 
a condition of affairs in our negotiations which leads your 
Officers to terminate them without an effort to procure a 
wider authority from the members of your Society, and with- 
out deeming it of sufficient importance to proceed with the ex- 
amination of the credentials of the members of both Societies 
with a view to taking the preliminary steps looking to a 
union of the Societies. 

It is true that the Congress of the Sons of the American 
Revolution gave to its General Officers a more extended 
authority than the Congress of the Sons of the Revolution 

15 



gave to its Officers, but in a matter of so much importance 
to both organizations, and regarding which there is such an 
earnest feeling on the part of the members, it was trusted 
that your Officers would discuss through conference commit- 
tees, a fair and equitable basis of union, and would mean- 
while proceed with the scrutinizing of the credentials of the 
members of both Societies, a work which will require a con- 
siderable time. The results reached by such committees 
would, of course, have no binding force without the sanction 
of your Congress, but they would bring the representatives of 
the two organizations into intimate communication, secure a 
free interchange of views and lead perhaps to a joint under- 
standing which would assist our respective Congresses in 
reaching a harmonious action. 

We understand, however, that your Society by corres- 
pondence and without the holding of a personal conference 
between your Officers and ours, rejects all our propositions 
looking to bringing about such action, and instead of co- 
operating with us with a view to forming a basis of union by 
mutual agreement, insist upon an absorption of our Society 
into yours, by taking your name, acting under your charter 
and conducting the business under a constitution which has 
been shown in a previous letter, to be seriously defective, 
obsolete and practically impossible for both. We can only, 
therefore, express our extreme regret that in spite of the 
earnest efforts made by this Society both in 1893 ^^^^ i^ ^^^ 
present year, the much desired negotiations for union have 
been brought to a stand-still. 

Yours very truly, 

FRANKLIN MURPHY, 

Secretary General. 
16 



COPY OF 

CONFERENCE COMMITTEE'S REPORT, 

DECEMBER 22, 1892. 

To 

General Horace Porter, 

President General of the Sons of the American Revolution, 
and 

Hon. John Lee Carroll, 

President General of the Sons of the Revolution. 

The Committees of the Sons of the American Revolution 
and Sons of the Revolution, to whom was entrusted by their 
respective societies the duty of conferring upon the ques- 
tion of union of the two societies, beg leave to present this 
their joint Report. 

First: They desire to express their gratification at the 
cordiality, harmony and enthusiasm that have marked their 
deliberations, and the unanimity which has attended their 
conclusions. 

Second : The desirability of effecting a union being con- 
curred in by all, the Committees of Conference addressed 
themselves at once to the consideration of the questions 
essential to the accomplishment of the desired result. These 
were : 

1. Name. 

2. Colors. 

3. Insignia. 

4. New Constitution. 

Third: The Committees unanimously decided and do 
now recommend : 

1. That the Sons of the American Revolution and Sons 
of the Revolution do unite in one organization. 

2. That the society so constituted be named Sons of the 
Revolution. 

17 



3- That its colors be buff and blue. 

4. That its insignia be, in its general features, that of the 
Society of the Sons of the American Revolution ; that its 
seal be of the form hereinafter described. 

5. That its Constitution be as follows : 



The Constitution of the General Society 



Sons of the Revolution. 



ARTICLE I. 

The name of the Society shall be the "Sons of the 
Revolution." 

article ii. 

The objects of this society are, to perpetuate the memory 
of the men who, in the military, naval or civil service of the 
Colonies and of the Continental Congress, by their acts or 
counsel, achieved the Independence of the country ; to fur- 
ther the proper celebration of the anniversaries of the birth- 
day of Washington, and of prominent events connected with 
the War of the Revolution ; to collect and secure for preser- 
vation the rolls, records and other documents relating to that 
period ; to mark by appropriate monuments historic places ; 
to impress upon the present and future generations the pa- 
triotic spirit which actuated our ancestors and established the 
Republic of the United States, and to promote the feeling of 
friendship among its members. 

ARTICLE III. 

Any man is eligible for membership who is of the age of 
twenty-one years and who is lineally descended from an 
ancestor who, with unfailing loyalty, rendered material aid 

18 



to the cause of American Independence as a military officer, 
minute-man, soldier, sailor or marine, or a civil officer in the 
service of any of the several colonies or states, or of the 
United Colonies or States, whose services as such official 
shall appear by public official record made at the time, and 
provided such man be found worthy. 

Provided further, that when the claim of eligibility is 
based on the service of an ancestor as a civil official, such 
service must have been performed in the civil service of the 
United States, or of one of the thirteen original States, and 
must have been sufficiently important in character to have 
rendered the official specially liable to arrest and imprison- 
ment, the same as a combatant, if captured by the enemy, 
as well as liable to conviction of treason against the Govern- 
ment of Great Britain. 

And provided further, that when there shall be no sur- 
viving issue in direct lineal succession from an officer, min- 
ute-man, soldier, sailor, or marine, who died or was killed in 
actual service, or from an officer who received by formal 
resolve the approbation of the Continental Congress for 
Revolutionary services, or from a signer of the Declaration 
of Independence, the claim of eligibility shall descend and be 
limited to one representative at a time in the nearest collat- 
eral line of descent from such ancestor, to be designated by 
the State Society ; and no other descendants in collateral 
lines shall be admitted in right of any services whatever. 

The Board of Managers of each State Society shall have 
full and exclusive power to determine the qualifications as 
to worthiness and eligibility of applicants for membership 
under this Article, with power to accept or reject all appli- 
cations. 

ARTICLE IV. 

The General Society shall be divided into State Societies,, 
which shall meet annually on the day appointed therefor in 
their respective by-laws, and oftener, if found expedient. 
The Secretary of each State Society shall transmit to the 
General Secretary a list of its members, together with the 
names and official designations of those from whom such 

19 



members claim membership, with a list of officers elected at 
each annual meeting. 

ARTICLE V. 

The State Societies shall regulute all matters respecting 
their own affairs consistent with the general good of the 
Society, judge of the qualifications of their members and of 
those proposed for membership, subject, however, to the 
provisions of this Constitution, and may expel any member 
who, by conduct unbecoming a gentleman or man of honor, 
or by an opposition to the interests of the community in 
general, or of the society in particular, may render himself 
unworthy to continue in membership. 



ARTICLE VI. 

The expenses of the General Society shall be borne by 
the State Societies by assessment pro rata according to mem- 
bership. 

ARTICLE VII. 

The regular meeting of the General Society shall be held 
every year on the last Wednesday of April in the city of 
New York, unless otherwise designated, and special meetings 
may be held upon the order of the General President, or 
upon the request of two of the State Societies, and such 
meetings shall consist of the General Officers and a represen- 
tation from each State Society not exceeding one delegate 
from each one hundred members of such State Society and 
every fraction of one hundred over fifty, and, ex-officio^ the 
President, Secretary, Registrar and Historian of each State 
Society, and two delegates-at-large from each State Society. 

The expenses attending the annual meetings of the Gen- 
eral Society shall be borne by the General Society. 



ARTICLE VIII. 

At the regular meeting a General President, Vice-Presi- 
dent, Secretary, Treasurer, Chaplain, Registrar and Historian 



shall be chosen by a majority of the votes present, to serve 
until the next regular general meeting or until their succes- 
sors are duly chosen. 

The General Society shall have power at any meeting to 
admit State Societies thereto, and to entertain and determine 
all questions afifecting the qualification for membership in, 
or the welfare of, any State Society, which may by proper 
memorial be presented by such State Society for considera- 
tion. 



ARTICLE IX. 

The insignia of the General Society shall be a cross sur- 
mounted by an eagle in gold or silver, and a rosette. 

The cross shall be of silver, with four arms, and eight 
white enamelled points, same size as Chevalier's Cross of 
the Legion of Honor of France, with a gold medallion in the 
centre, bearing on the obverse a bust of Washington in pro- 
file, and on the reverse the figure of a minute-man sur- 
rounded by a ribbon enamelled buff and blue, with the motto, 
" Ivibertas et Patria," on the obverse, and the legend, " Sons 
of the Revolution," on the reverse, both in letters of gold» 
The cross shall be surmounted by an eagle in gold or silver, 
and the whole decoration suspended from a ring of gold by 
a ribbon of dark blue, ribbed and watered, edged with buflf, 
one and one-quarter inches wide and one and one-half inches 
in displayed length, and may be worn by any member of the 
Society on ceremonial occasions only, and shall be carried 
on the left breast, or, if an officer, on the collar, and shall 
never be worn as an article of jewelry. The custodian of this 
insignia shall be the General Secretary, who shall issue the 
same to the members of the society under such proper rules 
as may be formulated by the General Society, and he shall 
keep a register of such issues, wherein each insignia issued 
may be identified by the number thereof. 

The rosettes shall be seven-sixteenths of an inch in diam- 
eter, of usual pattern, displaying the colors of the Society, 
and may be worn by all members at discretion in the upper 
left hand button-hole of the coat. 



ARTICLE X. 

The seal of the General Society of the Sons of the Revolu- 
tion shall be one and seven-eighths of an inch in diameter, 
and shall consist of the figure of a minute-man in Continen- 
tal uniform standing on a ladder leading to a belfry and 
holding in his left hand a musket and an olive branch, and 
grasping in his right hand a bell rope ; above, the cracked 
^' Liberty Bell ;" issuing therefrom a ribbon, bearing the 
motto of the Sons of the Revolution, " Exegi Momimentum 
y^re Pereftnius ;'''' across the top of the ladder, on a ribbon, 
the figures " 1775," and at the left of the minute-man, and 
also on a ribbon, the figures " 1783 ;" the whole encircled by 
a band three-eighths of an inch wide, thereon at the top thir- 
teen stars of five points each, and at the bottom the legend, 
*' Sons of the Revolution ;" the following being a fac-simile 
thereof : 




The custodian of the seal shall be the General Secretary. 



ARTICLE XI. 



This Constitution may be amended, provided two-thirds 
of the members of the General Society present at any gen- 



•eral meeting or special meeting shall approve, and provided 
further, that notice of such motion to amend, specifying such 
proposed amendment in full, shall be given in writing to the 
presiding officer of the General Society and of each State 
Society at least sixty days before such motion is to be con- 
sidered. 



Fourth : That this proposed union may be made effectual 
this Committee further recommends : 

1. The presentation of its report to the respective Na- 
tional Societies of the Sons of the American Revolution and 
Sons of the Revolution at meetings to be called for that pur- 
pose on Thursday, the i6th day of February, 1893, ^^ ^^ 
City of New York, and the adoption at such meetings of a 
resolution recommending the union of the two societies and 
the adoption of the proposed Constitution. 

2. At a joint meeting immediately thereafter, of the two 
General Societies, the adoption of the new Constitution and 
election of officers, to serve until the last Wednesday of 
April, 1894, or until their successors are elected. 

All of which is respectfully submitted. 
New York, December 22, 1892. 

FRED'K S. TALLMADGE, 

President of the Sons of the Revolution of the 
State of New York. 

JONATHAN TRUMBULL, 

President of the Connecticut Society Sons of the 
American Revolution. 

CHAS. H. WOODRUFF, 

Delegate New York Sons of the Revolution. 

HORACE PORTER, 

President General Society Sons of the American 
Revolution and Chairman General 
Conference Committee. 



JOHN LEE CARROLL, 



General President Society of Sons of the Revo- 
lution. 

23 



BRADIvEY T. JOHNSON, 



President Maryland Society Sons of the American 
Revolution. 



EDWIN SHEPARD BARRETT, 



President Massachusetts Society Sons of the 
American Revolution. 



JOHN WHITEHEAD, 



President New Jersey Sons of the American 
Revolution. 



O. H. ERNST, 



Delegate from District of Columbia Sons of the 
Revolution. 



WM. RIDGLEY GRIFFITH, 



Delegate from Maryland Society Sons of the 
American Revolution. 

THOMAS W. HALI., 

Delegate from Maryland Society Sons of the 
Revolution. 

SAM. W. PENNYPACKER, 

Delegate Sons of the Revolution of Pennsylvania. 

RICHARD McCALI^ CADWALADER, 

vice-President and Delegate Sons of the Revolu- 
tion of Pennsylvania. 

CHARLES HENRY JONES, 

Delegate Sons of the Revolution of Pennsylvania 

ROBERT LENOX BELKNAP, 

Delegate New York Society Sons of the Revolution. 

JAMES MORTIMER MONTGOMERY, 

Secretary of Committee of Conference. 
General Secretary Sons of the Revolution. 
Secretary of Sons of the Revolution State of New 
York. 



NATHAN WARREN, 



Registrar Massachusetts Society Sons of the 
American Revolution, 

24 




LETTER 



OF THE 



MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY 



Sons of the Revolution 



OCTOBER, 1896 



PART FIRST. 



COMPLETE 



Official Correspondence 



IN THE MATTER OF THE 



Proposed Consolidation 



OF THE 



Sons ef the Revolution 



AND THE 



Sons of the American Revolution. 



"'he Sooloty 
09 



In the matter of the Proposed Consolidation of the 
Society of the Sons of the Revolution and the 
Society of the Sons of the American Revolution: 

NOTE OF EXPLANATION. 

The following correspondence, read in connection with 
the resolution passed by the General Society of the Sons of 
the Revolution at their meeting held in Savannah on the 
20th of April, 1896, will in a great measure explain itself. 

It is proper, however, to state that your General Presi- 
dent, before sending any reply to the first communication 
of the Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, con- 
sulted in New York a number of the General OflScers of our 
society as to the character of such a reply, and they were 
unanimously of the opinion that the answer herewith sub- 
mitted and marked No. i, was entirely within the instruc- 
tions given to us in Savannah, and contained/ everything 
which we were authorized to say. 

The replies to the second and third communications were, 
after consultation, naturally based upon the first, and having 
once concluded that we could not exceed our instructions, it 
was impossible for us afterwards to appoint committees who 
would enter upon the wide field of discussion for the forma- 
tion of a new Constitution without the express authority or 
consent of our Society. 

JOHN LEE CARROLL, 

General President. 
September, 1S96. 



The General Secretary of the Sons of the Revolution 
transmitted to the Secretary General of the Sons of the Ameri- 
can Revolution the following preample and resolutions, pro- 
posed by Mr. Francis Ellingwood Abbott, Massachusetts 
Society, seconded by Mr. Robert Olyphant, New York 
Society, which were adopted at the meeting of the former 
Society, held April 20, 1896 : 

Wliereas^ The existence of two separate societies, with 
identical objects and nearly identical names, where one 
strong society alone ought to exist — to wit : Sons of the 
Revolution and Sons of the American Revolution — is an 
anomaly which perplexes the public mind, excites distrust 
of both societies, provokes injurious comment, alienates the 
sympathy of very many descendants of Revolutionary an- 
cestors whose aid is needed, and seriously interferes with 
the patriotic work to which both these societies are sincerely 
and equally devoted ; and 

Whereas^ Consolidation of these two societies in a single 
society, on the basis of a Constitution and Plan of Union 
which had been previously agreed upon at separate meet- 
ings of the General Society of Sons of the Revolution and 
the National Society of Sons of the American Revolution in 
the City of New York, February 16, 1893, failed on account 
of disagreement as to the submission of the original creden- 
tials and applications of all the members of all their respec- 
tive State Societies to a fresh examination and revision, in 
accordance with the provisions of the new Constitution 
agreed upon, as a necessary preliminary to enrolling mem- 
bers of the new consolidated society; and 

Wliereas^ The necessity of this preliminary examination 
and revision, if the proposed new society is to be exclusively 
composed, and known to be exclusively composed, of actual 
descendants of Revolutionary ancestors, ought to be self 
evident; therefore, 

Resolved, That we, the General Society of Sons of the 
Revolution, convened in Savannah on the 20th of April 
1896, hereby proffer, sincerely and fraternally, a standing 
invitation to the National Society of Sons of the American 
Revolution to unite with us in a single General Society, ac- 



cording to the terms of union which were harmoniously 
agreed upon at the separate meetings of the two existing 
Societies in New York, February i6, 1893, as amended by 
striking therefrom the third paragraph of Article III, which 
provi-ded for the admission of collaterals ; provided^ that 
prior to such actual union, the membership rolls of all the 
State Societies of both the existing societies, together with 
all the original credentials and applications on which mem- 
bership has been granted, shall be submitted for fresh ex- 
amination and revision to a competent and disinterested 
committee, so constituted by mutual agreement of the gene- 
ral ofHcers as to command the entire confidence of both the 
uniting societies; dcvA provided^ further, that this committee 
shall be empowered and instructed to erase the name of any 
member, on the roll of any State Society, by whose creden- 
tials and application it would appear that he is not entitled 
to membership under such requirements of Article III of the 
Constitution agreed upon at New York, February 16, 1893, 
as relate to direct lineal descendants ; to the end that mem- 
bership in the Consolidated Society shall be indubitable 
proof of descent from one or more revolutionary ancestors. 

Resolved^ That the Secretary of the General Society of 
Sons of the Revolution be instructed to transmit a copy of 
these resolutions to the Secretary of the National Society of 
Sons of the American Revolution, with an expression of our 
hope that they will be received in the same frank and kindly 
spirit in which they are sent. 

I hereby certify that the foregoing is a correct copy of the 
original. 

JAMES MORTIMER MONTGOMERY, 

Generai. Secretary. 



In reply thereto the General Secretary Sons of the Revo- 
lution received from the Secretary General Sons of the Amer- 
ican Revolution the following preamble and resolutions^ 
adopted by the last named Society at its meeting held April 
30, 1896: 

Whereas^ the National Society of the Sons of the Ameri- 
can Revolution note, with sincere gratification, the growing; 

3 



sentiment in favor of a union witli the Society of the Sons 
of the Revolution, upon terms which shall be well considered 
and equitable, and which shall tend to promote the honor, 
dignity, and largest usefulness of the societies and the patriotic 
and public spirited objects for which both are organized ; and 

WJiereas^ the General Society of the Sons of the Revolu- 
tion, in triennial meeting assembled in the City of Savannah, 
Ga., April 20th Instant, did adopt resolutions extending a 
sincere and fraternal invitation to the National Society of the 
Sons of the American Revolution to unite with them in a 
single society ; and 

Whereas^ the National Society of the Sons of the Ameri- 
can Revolution is heartily, sincerely, and fraternally desirous 
of a consolidation of the two societies, upon a well-considered 
basis, and is anxious to submit its rolls of membership to a 
most rigorous and searching examination by a competent 
and disinterested tribunal, in order that it may, once for all, 
in the eyes of all men, supply the indubitable proof of the 
eligibility of all its members, as lineal descendants of revolu- 
tionary ancestors ; now, therefore, be it 

Resolved^ by the National Society of the Sons of the 
American Revolution, in annual congress assembled in the 
city of Richmond, Va., April 30th, 1896. That we do hereby 
send our most fraternal and cordial greetings to the General 
Society of the Sons of the Revolution, and declare without 
reservation our strong, sincere desire for a consolidation of 
the two societies into a single society upon a well-considered 
basis of union. 

Resolved^ That we do hereby instruct the general officers 
of this society to submit the membership rolls and the original 
credentials and applications, on which membership has 
been granted, for a fresh examination to a competent and 
disinterested committee, so constituted by mutual agree- 
:ment of the general officers of both societies as to com- 
mand the entire confidence of both societies, said committee 
vlo indicate the person or persons in each society who shall 
mot have indubitable proof of lineal descent from a revolu- 
tionary ancestor, in accordance with the plan of consolida- 
tion, agreed to by the committees of conference in 1893, but 
now voluntarily amended by the Society of the Sons of the 



Revolution by omitting the paragraph which provides for 
the admission of collaterals ; and the National Society of the 
Sons of the American Revolution does hereby pledge itselt 
to erase from its rolls of membership the names of all per- 
sons indicated by said committee as not having indubitable 
proof of lineal descent. 

Resolved^ That we hereby empower the general officers of 
this society to appoint a committee of able, competent, and 
disinterested men, who shall confer with a like committee 
of equal size, appointed by the general officers of the Sons 
of the Revolution, to agree upon a basis for the union of the 
two societies ; to the end that said plan of union, together 
with the report of the Committee on Revision of the Mem- 
bership Rolls, may promptly be transmitted by the general 
officers of both societies to their respective State societies 
for approval, so that when a majority of the State societies 
of each organization shall have approved the same, said 
general officers may cause a special congress of the united 
societies to be elected upon the basis of the new constitution 
to form a national organization. And, further, we do hereby 
pledge the National Society of the Sons of the American 
Revolution heartily and sincerely, to labor for the removal ol 
every possible cause of disagreement between the two socie- 
ties and to effect a satisfactory union at the earliest possible 
date. 

Resolved^ That the President General and the Secretary 
General of this society are instructed immediately to com- 
municate this preamble and accompanying resolutions to 
the officers of the General Society of the Sons of the Revo- 
lution, with the assurance of our fraternal regard, and our 
desire that a union of the two societies may speedily be 
effected. 

HORACE PORTER, 
(Seal.) President General, 

FRANKLIN MURPHY, 

Secretary General. 

I hereby certify that the foregoing is a correct copy of the 

original. 

FRANKLIN MURPHY, 

Secretary General. 



The following correspondence has also been had : 

I. 

146 Broadway, 
New York, May 25, 1896. 
Franklin Murphy, Esq., 

Secretary General Sons of the American Revolution, 
No. 143 Chestnut Street, Newark, N. J. 

Sir: 

I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your 
favor of May 9th, enclosing certain resolutions which were 
unanimously adopted by the congress of the Sons of the 
American Revolution, assembled in Richmond, Va., on the 
30th day of April, 1896. 

In reply to your communication I have been instructed by 
the General Officers of the Society of Sons of the Revolution 
to say, that they appreciate most highly the earnest desire 
for a fraternal union of the two societies as expressed by the 
resolutions of the National Society of Sons of the American 
Revolution, and that the General Officers of the Society of 
Sons of the Revolution, under the authority of the resolu- 
tions adopted by that society at its meeting held April 20th 
ultimo, (a copy of which is enclosed) are prepared to appoint 
an able and disinterested committee to examine the creden- 
tials of the members of both societies. 

I am instructed further to say that when this committee 
has completed its work as to the revision of the lists, and 
when the names of those in either society who have been 
found disqualified for membership have been erased from 
the rolls, the General Officers of this society will be prepared 
to unite in a call for a congress of the two societies, so that 
they may form one great national organization upon the 
basis of union and by the adoption of the Constitution agreed 
upon by the representatives of both societies on February 
16, 1893, as amended by the General Society of Sons of the 
Revolution at its triennial meeting in Savannah, on the 20th 
day of April, 1896. 

I have the honour to remain your obedient servant, 

JAMES MORTIMER MONTGOMERY, 

General Secretary. 



11. 

Newark, May 29, 1896. 
James M. Montgomery, Esq., 

General Secretary, Sons of the Revolution, 
56 Wall Street, Room 5, New York. 
Dear Sir : 

I have already had the honor to acknowledge the receipt 
of your communication of May 25, 1896, which I took 
pleasure in submitting to the General Officers of this Society. 
They instruct me to say in reply that they will be happy to 
meet the General Officers of your Society at the Waldorf 
hotel, at 3.30 p. M., on Wednesday, June 3, or any other 
afternoon of next week which your Officers may find more 
convenient, for the purpose of selecting by mutual agree- 
ment a committee to examine the credentials of the mem- 
bers of both Societies as contemplated in the resolutions 
adopted by the two bodies ; that upon receiving its report 
they will strike from the rolls the names of those who may 
be found to be disqualified for membership, and that they 
will be prepared to form one organization upon a basis of 
union to be mutually agreed upon by a new conference com- 
mittee as proposed in the resolutions adopted by the Sons of 
the American Revolution, at Richmond, Va. 

I am instructed further to call attention to the fact that 
no mention is made in your communication of the provision 
embodied in the resolutions of this Society for the appoint- 
ment of " A committee of able, competent and disinterested 
men, who shall confer with a like committee of equal size, ap- 
pointed by the General Officers of the Sons of the Revolution 
to agree upon said basis of union." Our officers would be 
glad to be informed whether it is the intention of the Officers 
of your Society to appoint such a committee. 

It is thought that the constitution prepared and submitted 
by the committees of the two Societies on February 16, 1893, 
and which failed of adoption, may be made more satisfactory 
by new committees, considering the fact that both Societies 
have undergone changes, contain many new members un- 
familiar with the proceedings of 1893, and have learned 
much from experience since that time as to the requirements 
which should be embodied in an instrument so important as 

7 



that which is to constitute the organic law of a large and im- 
portant consolidated society. Strength is given to this belief 
by the fact that your society has already suggested an im- 
portant amendment, namely, prohibiting the admission of 
collaterals, which will be accepted gladly by this society, as 
such a prohibition has always existed in the constitution 
of the Sons of the American Revolution, and by the further 
fact that the proposed constitution of 1893 contained con- 
flicting language and provisions which neither society pre- 
sumably would now want to have incorporated in the per- 
manent law which is to govern the joint society. 

The provision for the appointment of such committees by 
the two societies was embodied in the resolutions passed by 
this society, for the reason that it was supposed that it would 
be more satisfactory to both societies to have a full discussion 
of the subject and ascertain whether there are not advan- 
tageous changes which could be made that would meet with 
the assent of the two organizations. 

I am further instructed to convey to you the assurance that 
our General Officers are willing and anxious to unite with 
you in taking all steps, within their power, to promote the 
much desired object of a permanent union. 

Yours truly, 

FRANKLIN MURPHY, 

Secretary General. 



III. 

New York, June 8, 1896. 
Franklin Murphy, Esq., 

Secretary General Sons of the American Revolution, 
No. 143 Chestnut street, Newark, N. J. 
Dear Sir: 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your 
communication of the 29th of May, 1896, in reply to my letter 
of the 25th ultimo. 

I am instructed by the General Officers of the Society of 
the Sons of the Revolution to say that there appears to 
have been a misunderstanding on the part of the Society of 

8 



the Sons of the American Revolution as to the meaning of 
the resolutions which were passed by this society on the 
2oth of April last at Savannah. I take the liberty of enclos- 
ing a copy of those resolutions for closer examination. 

You will see by the terms of the first resolution, that a 
standing invitation is tendered to the Society of the Sons ot 
the American Revolution "to unite with us in a single 
society according to the terms of union which were unani- 
mously agreed tcpoft at the separate meetings of the two 
existhig societies in New York^ February i6, 1893, as 
amended by striking therefrom the third paragraph ot 
Article III, which provided for the admission of collaterals." 

The action of the Society of the Sons of the Revolution in 
their reply of the 25th of May, 1896, was limited by the terms 
and scope of the resolution adopted at Savannah, and they 
felt that they had no power to exceed the instructions which 
were given to them at that meeting. They therefore ex- 
pressed their readiness to appoint a committee of disinter- 
ested gentlemen to examine the credentials of the members 
of both societies, as this was the only committee which they 
were authorized to name. 

I am instructed further to say, that however opinions 
may differ as to the value of the terms of agreement which 
were adopted in February, 1893, it must be remembered that 
those terms were the result of many conferences of the rep- 
resentatives of both societies, and were supposed at the time 
to cover every point about which in future any dispute could 
arise. 

The meeting of two committees now, as proposed by the 
Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, to consider 
a " basis of union," would necessarily open up the whole 
subject, as to name, insignia, qualifications, etc., etc., all ot 
which the Society of the Sons of the Revolution looked upon 
as concluded by the terms of agreement adopted in 1893. 

This society therefore regrets very much that the union 
of the two societies should now be made by your society to 
depend upon the adoption of a " new basis," when they had 
considered those important questions settled in 1893. 

In conclusion I would respectfully repeat that the power 
of the General Officers of this Society is limited by the reso- 



lution passed at Savannah, and they have no authority to 
appoint any committee but that which provides for the ex- 
amination of the credentials of the members of both societies. 
I have the honor to be your obedient servant, 

JAMES MORTIMER MONTGOMERY, 

General Secretary. 

IV. 

Newark, N. J., July 28, 1896. 
James Mortimer Montgomery, Esq., 

General Secretary, Sons of the Revolution. 

Dear Sir: 

I have the honor now to reply to your favor of June 8th, 
which I took pleasure in submitting to the General Officers 
of this society. 

They have instructed me to say that there was no mis- 
understanding on their part as to the wording of the resolu- 
tions which were passed by your society at Savannah, but 
the propositions expressed in our communication to you of 
May 29th were made in the hope that under the circum- 
stances, and in consideration of the general desire for prompt 
action in regard to union, your officers would take the re- 
sponsibility of acceding to the appointment of a committee 
to meet a committee named by this society to discuss the 
most important of all questions — a fair basis of union and to 
see whether such committees could not by mutual agreement 
unite upon a plan which could at least be submitted to the 
societies for their action. 

The resolutions of your society adopted at Savannah 
looked to the formation of a single society, upon the terms 
of union set forth in the proposed constitution of February 
16, 1893, with an amendment thereto. It was, therefore, 
naturally supposed that as your society had made an amend- 
ment to that document without consultation with this society, 
the privilege should be accorded to this society of taking 
steps looking to the making of other amendments in con- 
sultation with your society. 

The Savannah resolutions speak of the constitution of 1893 
as having been adopted by the societies whereas the proceed- 



ings show that that constitution failed to be adopted. Some 
of the reasons for believing that it is necessary for both socie- 
ties to have conference committees take up the plan of 
reorganization anew, are as follows : 

The proposed constitution of 1893 was prepared when the 
societies were small and without large experience in the 
means of carrying out the purposes of a great national 
patriotic organization. Of the present members, one-half 
perhaps, of each society have joined since the proceedings of 
1893 and it would seem fair that they should have a right to 
be heard in a matter of such importance as a constitution 
for the goverment of a permanent union of these organiza- 
tions. 

The proposed constitution of 1893 is so defective that it is 
believed that your officers will agree that a large Society could 
not possibly work successfully under its provision. For in- 
stance, the last paragraph of Article III states that the 
Board of Managers of each State Society shall have full and 
exclusive power to determine the qualifications of applicants 
for membership, with power to expel or reject all applica- 
tions. Article VIII says that the General Society shall have 
power to admit State Societies and determine all questions 
afiecting the qualifications of membership which may by 
proper memorial be presented for consideration. This lan- 
guage is confusing and seems to be contradictory. 

Besides, that constitution makes no provision for the filing 
of a copy of the credentials of members with the Registrar 
General of the National Society and does not sufficiently de- 
fine his duties or give him enough power to fix his responsi- 
bility in passing upon the validity of credentials. It pre- 
scribes the form of a seal which we are informed was long 
ago adopted by the Washington Continental Guard of New 
York City, which, having used the seal for many years, 
would apparently be entitled to continual use of the same 
without infringement. 

It names the last Wednesday in April as the day for the 
annual meeting when it has been the custom of both 
societies to meet on some patriotic anniversary, which gives 
a meaning and a purpose to the occasion. 

It also provides that the larger Society shall take the exact 



name of the smaller Society, and it is assumed that that 
would mean coming under the charter of the latter Society, 
and be a complete and absolute absorption by one Society of 
the other, instead of a union of the two. The Society of the 
Sons of the American Revolution has never intimated, and 
does not now even suggest that its name be adopted by the 
joint Society, but thinks that possibly some equally good 
title, not the exact name of either Society, might be accept- 
able to both; for instance, the Society of the Revolution or 
the Society of the American Revolution. The adoption ot 
some such name would be following the almost universal 
custom in naming patriotic Societies, among which may be 
named the Society of the Cincinnati ; the Society of the Col- 
onial Wars ; the Society of the Colonial Dames ; the Society 
of Foreign Wars; the Society of the Army of the Potomac, 
etc., etc. There are many who think there is more dignity 
attached to these names from the fact that they do not con- 
tain the word " Sons," a term which seems to suggest that 
the organization is composed of juveniles instead of adults, 
like the Junior Guards, Junior Veterans, Children of the 
Revolution, etc. It is advisable also to consider the subject 
of name for the reason that the plan of consolidation should 
provide for the largest possible usefulness and grandeur of 
the united Societies. The Sons of the American Revolution 
already have a Society in the new Republic of Hawaii, where 
no Society of this class could probably exist under the name 
simply of "Sons of the Revolution." It is entirely practic- 
able to form branch Societies in other foreign lands, if the 
title be specific in indicating that it is the American Revolu- 
tion, from which eligibility is derived. 

Again, the constitution of 1893 n^akes no provision for 
organizing chapters in the different states. The formation 
of chapters is becoming a prominent feature in the Sons of 
the American Revolution; it does much for the convenience 
of the members and is important as a means of enlarging 
membership. It therefore seems beyond dispute that the 
proposed constitution of 1893, ^^ i^^ present form, is seriously 
defective and obsolete. It seems to be of paramount im- 
portance that an instrument which is to form the organic 
law of a large and influential Society should be prepared be- 

12 



forehand so that the present Societies will know exactly 
what provisions are to govern the new organization. It may 
be said that after the adoption of the constitution it could be 
amended at pleasure by the joint Society, but your officers 
will probably agree with ours that it would be most unfor- 
tunate to have a feeling pervade the minds of the members 
of the Societies that after adopting a constitution embody- 
ing a basis of union there were to be immediate changes made 
in it. In union, upon a comprehensive and complete basis, we 
would hope to adjust all differences and put an end to con- 
troversy, whereas a union upon a basis which would call for 
immediate changes in the Constitution would precipitate dis- 
cussion and sow the seeds of discord. It would also look as 
if a majority might want to overrule the will of a minority, 
would manifest a disposition to continue the idea that there 
had existed two separate Societies and might jeopardize the 
success of the contemplated union. 

While the committee on credentials is performing its 
work, there will be ample time for conference committees to 
discuss a proper and permanent basis of union. If these 
committees could not agree upon a satisfactory plan, there 
would be no harm done, except the loss of time to the in- 
dividuals composing the committee. You will observe that 
this Society is instructed to take such a course by the resolu- 
tions passed at Richmond, and while your General Society 
may not have authorized your committee to proceed so far, 
doubtless if such a course has the approval of your General 
Officers a committee would be willing to discuss the whole 
question in the hope that an agreement for union might be 
reached; in which case such an agreement could be sub- 
mitted to the Congresses of both Societies next Spring, 
unless special Congresses should be called sooner, and, if 
accepted, union could then be had almost at once. It is 
only proper to say that in the opinion of our officers the 
feeling of our Society is that — earnestly and sincerely desir- 
ing union as it does, it nevertheless feels that such a union 
should be upon a basis that would be deemed fair after con- 
sidering all that there is to be presented from the points of 
view and experience of both Societies, and which would in 
the judgment of our most dispassionate and well informed 

13 



members, promote the highest usefulness of the united 
Societies. 

If, however, your Officers decline even to appoint the con- 
ference committee proposed we would be glad to be in- 
formed whether they will under the circumstances wish to 
proceed with the work of scrutinizing the credentials of the 
members in both Societies. If so, our General Officers in- 
struct me to say that they will be most happy to enter at 
once upon that branch of the subject in the hope that the 
eliminating of one point of dispute will bring the two organ- 
izations that much nearer to a union so much desired by all. 

In the present temper of the membership of both Societies, 
it is likely that union will go on piece-meal by the uniting of 
the various state Societies, and it would seem desirable that 
the National Societies should take the matter up more com- 
prehensively and submit some definite plan to the State 
Societies, which, if adopted, would be the means of forming 
a union that would be harmonious, permanent and com- 
plete, and calculated to ensure the highest usefulness of the 
Societies. 

Yours very truly, 

FRANKUN MURPHY, 

Secrktary General. 



V. 
New York, August nth, 1896. 
Franklin Murphy, Esq., 

Secretary General Sons of the American Revolution, 
No. 143 Chestnut street, Newark, N. J. 

Dear Sir: 

I have submitted your communication of the 28th 
of July to our General President, and in reply I am in- 
structed to say, that whatever may be the views of the 
members of the two societies upon the question of framing 
a new Constitution for a great National United Society, the 
General Officers of the Sons of the Revolution are bound to 
consider their power as limited by the resolutions passed at 
Savannah in April last, and have tendered to the Society of 
the Sons of the American Revolution a cordial invitation to 

14 



unite with them upon terms wholly within their instruc- 
tions. This invitation, we now consider, has been rejected 
by your society, and in its place a totally new proposition 
has been submitted to us, upon which your society has been 
authorized to act, and we are invited to co-operate without 
the authority of our members. It would be impossible for 
us to take this action, and inasmuch as the examination of 
the credentials of the members of both societies could only 
be of value in case of prospective union, we cannot appre- 
ciate the importance of the appointment of a committee un- 
less we were assured that further steps would be taken by 
your society to correspond to the invitation which has been 
tendered to you. 

I have the honor to be your obedient servant, 

JAMES MORTIMER MONTGOMERY, 

General Secretary. 



VL 

Newark, N. J., September 21, 1896. 

James Mortimer Montgomery, Esq., 

General Secretary, Sons of the Revolution. 

Dear Sir : 

I received your communication of August nth, and 
have submitted it to our General Officers. I am instructed 
by them to say in reply that they greatly regret that your 
communication seems to take it for granted that on account 
of a conflict of instructions under which the General Officers 
of our respected Societies are acting, there has been reached 
a condition of affairs in our negotiations which leads your 
Officers to terminate them without an effort to procure a 
wider authority from the members of your Society, and with- 
out deeming it of sufficient importance to proceed with the ex- 
amination of the credentials of the members of both Societies 
with a view to taking the preliminary steps looking to a 
union of the Societies. 

It is true that the Congress of the Sons of the American 
Revolution gave to its General Officers a more extended 
authority than the Congress of the Sons of the Revolution 

15 



gave to its Officers, but in a mattei of so much importance 
to both organizations, and regarding which there is such an 
earnest feeling on the part of the members, it was trusted 
that your Officers would discuss through conference commit- 
tees, a fair and equitable basis of union, and would mean- 
while proceed with the scrutinizing of the credentials of the 
members of both Societies, a work which will require a con- 
siderable time. The results reached by such committees 
would, of course, have no binding force without the sanction 
of your Congress, but they would bring the representatives of 
the two organizations into intimate communication, secure a 
free interchange of views and lead perhaps to a joint under- 
standing which would assist our respective Congresses in 
reaching a harmonious action. 

We understand, however, that your Society by corres- 
pondence and without the holding of a personal conference 
between your Officers and ours, rejects all our propositions 
looking to bringing about such action, and instead of co- 
operating with us with a view to forming a basis of union by 
mutual agreement, insist upon an absorption of our Society 
into yours, by taking your name, acting under your charter 
and conducting the business under a constitution which has 
been shown in a previous letter, to be seriously defective, 
obsolete and practically impossible for both. We can only, 
therefore, express our extreme regret that in spite of the 
earnest effi)rts made by this Society both in 1893 and in the 
present year, the much desired negotiations for union have 
been brought to a stand-still. 

Yours very truly, 

FRANKLIN MURPHY, 

Secretary Generai.. 
16 



COPY OF 
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE'S REPORT, 
DECEMBER 22, 1892. 
To 

General Horace Porter, 

President General of the Sons of the American Revolution, 
and 

Hon. John Lee Carroll, 

President General of the Sons of the Revolution. 

The Committees of the Sons of the American Revolution 
and Sons of the Revolution, to whom was entrusted by their 
respective societies the duty of conferring upon the ques- 
tion of union of the two societies, beg leave to present this 
their joint Report. 

First: They desire to express their gratification at the 
cordiality, harmony and enthusiasm that have marked their 
deliberations, and the unanimity which has attended their 
conclusions. 

Second : The desirability of effecting a union being con- 
curred in by all, the Committees of Conference addressed 
themselves at once to the consideration of the questions 
essential to the accomplishment of the desired result. These 
were : 

1. Name. 

2. Colors. 

3. Insignia. 

4. New Constitution. 

Third: The Committees unanimously decided and do 
now recommend : 

1. That the Sons of the American Revolution and Sons 
of the Revolution do unite in one organization. 

2. That the society so constituted be named Sons of the 
Revolution. 

17 



3- That its colors be buff and blue. 

4. That its insignia be, in its general features, that of the 
Society of the Sons of the American Revolution ; that its 
seal be of the form hereinafter described. 

5. That its Constitution be as follows : 



The Constitution of the General Society 



Sons of the Revolution. 



ARTICLE I. 

The name of the Society shall be the "Sons of the 
Revolution." 

article ii. 

The objects of this society are, to perpetuate the memory 
of the men who, in the military, naval or civil service of the 
Colonies and of the Continental Congress, by their acts or 
counsel, achieved the Independence of the country ; to fur- 
ther the proper celebration of the anniversaries of the birth- 
day of Washington, and of prominent events connected with 
the War of the Revolution ; to collect and secure for preser- 
vation the rolls, records and other documents relating to that 
period ; to mark by appropriate monuments historic places ; 
to impress upon the present and future generations the pa- 
triotic spirit which actuated our ancestors and established the 
Republic of the United States, and to promote the feeling of 
friendship among its members. 

ARTICLE III. 

Any man is eligible for membership who is of the age of 
twenty-one years and who is lineally descended from an 
ancestor who, with unfailing loyalty, rendered material aid 

18 



to the cause of American Independence as a military officer, 
minute-man, soldier, sailor or marine, or a civil officer in the 
service of any of the several colonies or states, or of the 
United Colonies or States, whose services as such official 
shall appear by public official record made at the time, and 
provided such man be found worthy. 

Provided further, that when the claim of eligibility is 
based on the service of an ancestor as a civil official, such 
service must have been performed in the civil service of the 
United States, or of one of the thirteen original States, and 
must have been sufficiently important in character to have 
rendered the official specially liable to arrest and imprison- 
ment, the same as a combatant, if captured by the enemy, 
as well as liable to conviction of treason against the Govern- 
ment of Great Britain. 

And provided further, that when there shall be no sur- 
viving issue in direct lineal succession from an officer, min- 
ute-man, soldier, sailor, or marine, who died or was killed in 
actual service, or from an officer who received by formal 
resolve the approbation of the Continental Congress for 
Revolutionary services, or from a signer of the Declaration 
of Independence, the claim of eligibility shall descend and be 
limited to one representative at a time in the nearest collat- 
eral line of descent from such ancestor, to be designated by 
the State Society ; and no other descendants in collateral 
lines shall be admitted in right of any services whatever. 

The Board of Managers of each State Society shall have 
full and exclusive power to determine the qualifications as 
to worthiness and eligibility of applicants for membership 
under this Article, with power to accept or reject all appli- 
cations. 

ARTICLE IV. 

The General Society shall be divided into State Societies, 
which shall meet annually on the day appointed therefor in 
their respective by-laws, and oftener, if found expedient. 
The Secretary of each State Society shall transmit to the 
General Secretary a list of its members, together with the 
names and official designations of those from whom such 

19 



members claim membership, with a list of ofl&cers elected at 
each annual meeting. 

ARTICLE V. 

The State Societies shall regulute all matters respecting 
their own affairs consistent with the general good of the 
Society, judge of the qualifications of their members and of 
those proposed for membership, subject, however, to the 
provisions of this Constitution, and may expel any member 
who, by conduct unbecoming a gentleman or man of honor, 
or by an opposition to the interests of the community in 
general, or of the society in particular, may render himself 
unworthy to continue in membership. 

ARTICLE VI. 

The expenses of the General Society shall be borne by 
the State Societies by assessment pro rata according to mem- 
bership. 

ARTICLE VII. 

The regular meeting of the General Society shall be held 
every year on the last Wednesday of April in the city of 
New York, unless otherwise designated, and special meetings 
may be held upon the order of the General President, or 
upon the request of two of the State Societies, and such 
meetings shall consist of the General Officers and a represen- 
tation from each State Society not exceeding one delegate 
from each one hundred members of such State Society and 
every fraction of one hundred over fifty, and, ex-officio^ the 
President, Secretary, Registrar and Historian of each State 
Society, and two delegates-at-large from each State Society. 

The expenses attending the annual meetings of the Gen- 
eral Society shall be borne by the General Society. 



ARTICLE VIII, 

At the regular meeting a General President, Vice-Presi- 
dent, Secretary, Treasurer, Chaplain, Registrar and Historian 



shall be chosen by a majority of the votes present, to serve 
until the next regular general meeting or until their succes- 
sors are duly chosen. 

The General Society shall have power at any meeting to 
admit State Societies thereto, and to entertain and determine 
all questions affecting the qualification for membership in, 
or the welfare of, any State Society, which may by proper 
memorial be presented by such State Society for considera- 
tion. 



ARTICLE IX. 

The insignia of the General Society shall be a cross sur- 
mounted by an eagle in gold or silver, and a rosette. 

The cross shall be of silver, with four arms, and eight 
white enamelled points, same size as Chevalier's Cross of 
the Legion of Honor of France, with a gold medallion in the 
centre, bearing on the obverse a bust of Washington in pro- 
file, and on the reverse the figure of a minute-man sur- 
rounded by a ribbon enamelled buiBf and blue, with the motto, 
" lyibertas et Patria," on the obverse, and the legend, " Sons 
of the Revolution," on the reverse, both in letters of gold. 
The cross shall be surmounted by an eagle in gold or silver, 
and the whole decoration suspended from a ring of gold by 
a ribbon of dark blue, ribbed and watered, edged with bufi", 
one and one-quarter inches wide and one and one-half inches 
in displayed length, and may be worn by any member of the 
Society on ceremonial occasions only, and shall be carried 
on the left breast, or, if an officer, on the collar, and shall 
never be worn as an article of jewelry. The custodian of this 
insignia shall be the General Secretary, who shall issue the 
same to the members of the society under such proper rules 
as may be formulated by the General Society, and he shall 
keep a register of such issues, wherein each insignia issued 
may be identified by the number thereof. 

The rosettes shall be seven-sixteenths of an inch in diam- 
eter, of usual pattern, displaying the colors of the Society, 
and may be worn by all members at discretion in the upper 
left hand button-hole of the coat. 



ARTICLE X. 

The seal of the General Society of the Sons of the Revolu- 
tion shall be one and seven-eighths of an inch in diameter, 
and shall consist of the figure of a minute-man in Continen- 
tal uniform standing on a ladder leading to a belfry and 
holding in his left hand a musket and an olive branch, and 
grasping in his right hand a bell rope ; above, the cracked 
" Liberty Bell ;" issuing therefrom a ribbon, bearing the 
motto of the Sons of the Revolution, " Exegi Monuinentum 
^re Perennius f'' across the top of the ladder, on a ribbon, 
the figures " 1775," and at the left of the minute-man, and 
also on a ribbon, the figures " 1783 ;" the whole encircled by 
a band three-eighths of an inch wide, thereon at the top thir-' 
teen stars of five points each, and at the bottom the legend, 
" Sons of the Revolution ;" the following being a fac-simile 
thereof : 




The custodian of the seal shall be the General Secretary. 



ARTICLE XI. 

This Constitution may be amended, provided two-thirds 
of the members of the General Society present at any gen- 



eral meeting or special meeting shall approve, and provided 
further, that notice of such motion to amend, specifying such 
proposed amendment in full, shall be given in writing to the 
presiding officer of the General Society and of each State 
Society at least sixty days before such motion is to be con- 
sidered. 

Fourth : That this proposed union may be made eflfectual 
this Committee further recommends : 

1. The presentation of its report to the respective Na- 
tional Societies of the Sons of the American Revolution and 
Sons of the Revolution at meetings to be called for that pur- 
pose on Thursday, the i6th day of February, 1893, in the 
City of New York, and the adoption at such meetings of a 
resolution recommending the union of the two societies and 
the adoption of the proposed Constitution. 

2. At a joint meeting immediately thereafter, of the two 
General Societies, the adoption of the new Constitution and 
election of officers, to serve until the last Wednesday of 
April, 1894, or until their successors are elected. 

All of which is respectfully submitted. 
New York, December 22, 1892. 

FRED'K S. TALLMADGE, 

President of the Sons of the Revolution of the 
State of New York. 

JONATHAN TRUMBULL, 

President of the Connecticut Society Sons of the 
American Revolution. 

CHAS. H. WOODRUFF, 

Delegate New York Sons of the Revolution. 

HORACE PORTER, 

President General Society Sons of the America 
Revolution and Chairman General 
Conference Committee. 

JOHN LEE CARROLL, 

General President Society of Sons of the Revo- 
lution. 

23 



BRADLEY T. JOHNSON, 



President Maryland Society Sons of the American 
Revolution. 



EDWIN SHEPARD BARRETT, 



President Massachusetts Society Sons of the 
American Revolution. 



JOHN WHITEHEAD, 



President New Jersey Sons of the American 
Revolution. 



O. H. ERNST, 



Delegate from District of Columbia Sons of the 
Revolution. 



WM. RIDGLEY GRIFFITH, 



Delegate from Maryland Society Sons of the 
American Revolution. 

THOMAS W. HALL, 

Delegate from Maryland Society Sons of the 
Revolution. 

SAM. W. PENNYPACKER, 

Delegate Sons of the Revolution of Pennsylvania. 

RICHARD McCALL CADWALADER, 

vice-President and Delegate Sons of the Revolu- 
tion of Pennsylvania. 

CHARLES HENRY JONES, 

Delegate Sons of the Revolution of Pennsylvania 

ROBERT LENOX BELKNAP, 

Delegate New York Society Sons of the Revolution. 

JAMES MORTIMER MONTGOMERY, 

Secretary of Committee of Conference. 
General Secretary Sons of the Revolution. 
Secretary of Sons of the Revolution State of New 
York. 



NATHAN WARREN, 



Registrar Massachusetts Society Sons of the 
American Revolution. 

24 



PART SECOND. 



Letter 



OF THE 



Massachusetts Society 



TO THE VARIOUS OTHER 



State Societies 



OF THE 



Sons of the Revolution 



OCTOBER 26, 1896 



Massachusetts Society 

Sons of the Revolution. 



Officers Elected April 20, 1896. 

President, Clement Kelsey Fay. 
Vice-President, George Silsbee Hale. 

Secretary, Henry Dexter Warren. 

Treasurer, Andrew Robeson. 

Registrar, James Atkins Noyes. 

Historian, Francis Ellingwood Abbot. 

Chaplain, Rev. Leonard Kip Storrs. 

BOARD OF MANAGERS. 

Frank Harrison Briggs, Arthur Briggs Denny, 

Walter Oilman Page, Frank Merriam, 

William Curtis Capelle, Edward Tobey Barker, 

Frederick Banker Carpenter, Howard Eaton Hayden, 
Francis Apthorp Foster. 

DELEGATES TO GENERAL SOCIETY, '97. 

Francis Ellingwood Abbot, Henry Dexter Warren, 

Francis Rollin Spalding, Philip Remade, U. S. A., 

Winthrop Wetherbee. 

ALTERNATES. 

Hon. William Eustis Russell (deceased), 
Hon. William Franklin Draper, 
Rev. Edward Everett Hale, 
Benjamin Franklin Stevens, 
John Hoffman Collamore (deceased). 



Letter 

OF THE 

Massachusetts Society. 

Boston, October 26, 1896. 
To Our Brother State Societies, 
Greeting : 

In the foregoing pages will be found the complete official 
correspondence growing out of the standing invitation which, 
at Savannah, April 20, 1896, the Sons of the Revolution 
unanimously extended to the Sons of the American Revolution 
to unite with them in a single national organization. This 
correspondence as it stands is the record of a mortifying 
failure — a failure especially mortifying to you and to us, 
since the correspondence itself cannot but create a general 
impression, which we must all regret, that the representatives 
of the Sons of the Revolution have been diplomatically de- 
feated, and put apparently in the wrong, by the representatives 
of the Sons of the American Revolution. It reveals, to be 
sure, a transparently honest purpose in our representatives to 
obey the instructions of the General Society, and to abide 
scrupulously by the letter of these instructions ; but it also 
reveals a failure on their part to understand the true character 
of the Richmond resolutions, and a consequent failure to keep 
out of a trap which, whether intentionally or unintentionally 
placed there, actually opened before them. Interpreting the 
Richmond resolutions as a general acceptance of the Savannah 
invitation, wtien in truth they were a simple evasion of it, our 
representatives allowed themselves to be drawn into a discus- 
sion which has ended in their being held responsible them- 
selves for the absolutely inevitable result of this evasion. 
Not only is the union so earnestly desired by the vast majority 
in both societies completely defeated for the present, but — 
what is extremely unjust and injurious to us — the blame for 
this defeat seems to be thrown at last upon our own shoulders. 



By this correspondence, we ourselves are adroitly made to 
appear responsible for the continuance of that very disunion 
which we were doing our honest best to heal ; for, when we 
ourselves, in our own invitation, amended the Constitution 
agreed on by both societies in 1893, yet without consulting 
the other society, with what face can we refuse to recognize 
the right of that society to discuss further amendments to it 
in courteous consultation ? Manifestly, if we stiffly decline 
even to consider the proposition of the Sons of the American 
Revolution for further amendments of that Constitution, and 
make acceptance of it just as it stands our absolute ultimatum 
(which was certainly not the intention or the spirit of the 
Savannah invitation), how can we complain, if the cool com- 
mon sense of the community condemns us at last to bear the 
whole burden of responsibility for a schism which all the best 
men in both societies deeply deplore ? 

That is the forlorn predicament in which you and we now 
find ourselves left, as the outcome of this unfortunate official 
correspondence. The situation is so undignified, so discredit- 
able, so unendurable, that we of the Massachusetts Society now 
invite you, our brethren in the other States, to unite with us 
in calling a special meeting of the General Society, in order 
to extricate ourselves from the mortifying position in which 
the correspondence leaves us. 

A thorough understanding of the facts is necessary to a 
thorough understanding of the correspondence and its results. 
In the first place, the Savannah resolutions were nothing 
but a "standing invitation." This simple fact, kept steadily 
in mind, would have obviated the confusion on both sides. 
In strictness of propriety, an invitation cannot be argued or 
debated ; it cannot be made a source of controversy ; it can- 
not be modified by the recipient ; it can only be accepted or 
rejected. When Mr. Smith invites Mr. Brown to dine with 
him on Thursday, it would not be considered " good form " for 
Mr. Brown to reply that he will be happy to dine with Mr. 
Smith on Friday. It is not easy to see why the same rules of 
courtesy which obtain between individuals should not equally 
obtain between societies. 

Now the Richmond resolutions were not intended or 
understood at the time to be an acceptance of the Savannah 



invitation without change. This fact is evident in the report of 
the proceedings, as published in the " Spirit of '"j^ " for May. 
The Richmond resolutions (printed in full in the correspond- 
ence above) were introduced by the Hon. Ebenezer J. Hill, 
representing an "informal and unpremeditated conference," in 
the parlor of the President-General, on the previous evening. 
The Hon. Robert B. Roosevelt, however, moved the following 
as a substitute for Mr. Hill's resolutions: — 

"// is Resolved, That the Society of the Sons of the 
American Revolution cordially accepts the proposition for the 
consolidation of the two societies on the terms indicated, it 
having been always opposed to the admission of any but 
lineal descendants of Revolutionary ancestors ; and the Presi- 
dent is hereby authorized to appoint a committee of five to 
meet a similar committee of the Sons of the Revolution, with 
full power to agree upon terms for carrying into effect the 
foregoing resolution." 

This would have been a cordial and unambiguous accept- 
ance of the Savannah invitation. But objections to it were 
urged by Mr. Hill, the President-General, and Mr. Avery; in 
consequence of which, " Mr. Roosevelt withdrew his resolution 
with a few pleasant remarks, and was rewarded with applause. 
The resolutions [of Mr. Hill] were then unanimously adopted 
by a standing vote, amid much applause." 

The four Richmond resolutions, then, were certainly 
neither an acceptance nor a rejection of the Savannah invita- 
tion, but rather a fundamental change of it. The first was an 
expression of fraternal sentiments. The second was an ac- 
ceptance, not of the invitation, but merely of its two provisos, 
relating to the appointment of a Joint-Committee of Revision 
and the dropping of any member of either society whom they 
should report to be ineligible. The third, however, was a radi- 
cal change of the invitation itself, the very essence of which 
was to unite under the Constitution and Plan of Union already 
agreed to in 1893 ; whereas this resolution, ignoring the basis 
proposed, called for another "basis of union," to be agreed on 
hereafter by a new Joint-Committee of Conference. 

Clearly, then, the Richmond resolutions were a seeming 
acceptance, and yet a real evasion, of the substance of the 
Savannah invitation. They apparently deceived the Richmond 



convention itself, in which the general desire for union was 
undoubtedly as genuine and strong as it was in our own con- 
vention at Savannah. They certainly deceived our own 
representatives, as proved by the letter of May 25, printed 
above in the official correspondence. For this letter proposes, 
first, to go on with the appointment of a Joint-Committee of 
Revision, and, secondly, to go on with the calling of a Joint- 
Congress of the two societies, on the basis of the report of 
this Joint-Committee of Revision and the Constitution already 
agreed to in 1893, but now ignored ; while it takes no notice 
of the proposal to appoint a Joint-Committee of Conference for 
the purpose of arriving at a new and "well-considered basis of 
union." It thus treats the Richmond resolutions as a general 
acceptance of the Savannah invitation, whereas they were in 
fact a mere evasion of it. By thus misunderstanding these 
resolutions, it unconsciously invited the diplomatic defeat 
which followed. For there is no possibility of denying suc- 
cessfully the justice of Secretary Murphy's courteous but 
crushing retort, when he says in his letter of July 28 : — 

" It was, therefore, naturally supposed that, as your society 
had made an amendment to that document without consultation 
with this society, the privilege should be accorded to this 
society of taking steps looking to the making of other amend- 
ments in consultation with your society." 

This grave charge of inconsistency on our part cannot be 
successfully repelled, as the case has been left by this official 
correspondence. It was a capital error, therefore, even from 
a merely diplomatic point of view (to say nothing of equity or 
equal rights), when the letter of May 25 construed the Rich- 
mond resolutions as a general acceptance of the Savannah 
invitation. For it failed altogether to provide any way by 
which further minor amendments of the Constitution of 1893 
might be jointly effected, yet without abandoning that Con- 
stitution as, on the whole, a " well-considered basis of union." 
The mischievous effects of this error in diplomacy at the start 
appear too plainly in Secretary Murphy's final letter of Sep- 
tember 21, by which the blame for the lamentable failure of all 
these negotiations is so adroitly shifted from the evasiveness of 
the Richmond resolutions to the insinuated unwillingness of 
our own officers to have any union at all on any terms. The 



fact is that, those resolutions being what they are, no other 
outcome of the negotiations could have been reasonably ex- 
pected ; for they neither accepted nor rejected our invitation, 
but evaded it, and, under cover of discussing it, though dis- 
cussion of an invitation is clearly out of place, pressed upon 
our officers a proposition for the appointment of a Joint-Com- 
mittee of Conference which, of course, exceeded their powers. 
If the framers of the Richmond resolutions had themselves 
really wanted union, they could have had it with ease by 
simply accepting Mr. Roosevelt's resolution as a substitute for 
their own. There would have been no difficulty in securing, 
by mutual consent, whatever further amendments of the Con- 
stitution of 1893 are really needed. But the real reason for 
the failure to effect consolidation at this time lies in the 
evasive character of the Richmond resolutions, and the official 
correspondence ought to have made this fact plain to all the 
world. 

At the very meeting of May 21 which authorized the 
sending of the unfortunate letter of May 25, our Massachusetts 
representative. Dr. Abbot, submitted the following resolutions 
as a proper reply to Secretary Murphy's communication of the 
Richmond resolutions : — 

Whereas, We have received with pleasure the very friendly 
resolutions of the National Society of Sons of the American 
Revolution, adopted at Richmond, Va., April 30, 1896, in 
response to the invitation of the General Society of Sons of 
the Revolution to unite with us in a single society on the well 
considered basis of the Plan of Union separately approved and 
harmoniously agreed upon by both societies at New York, 
February 16, 1893; and 

Whereas, We unfeignedly rejoice that the only point of dis- 
agreement which prevented consolidation of the two societies 
at their conference of February 16, 1893, namely, disagreement 
as to a fresh examination and revision of the membership rolls 
of both societies alike, has now been very handsomely removed 
by the frank and cordial consent of the National Society of 
Sons of the American Revolution to join with us in effecting 
such fresh examination and revision, as a necessary preliminary 
step to actual consolidation of the two societies ; and 



Whereas, No basis or plan of union could possibly have a 
better title to the epithet "well considered" than the plan 
which was separately and deliberately debated at length, and 
then independently adopted, by each of the two societies at 
New York, February i6, 1893 ; and 

Whereas, The only possible result of appointing new and 
unnecessary committees of conference would be to reopen 
vexed questions now happily closed forever, to revive old con- 
troversies or provoke new ones, and to postpone indefinitely, if 
not to defeat altogether, that harmonious and complete organic 
union which both societies have so much at heart ; and 

Whereas, The general officers of the Sons of the Revolu- 
tion have no authority whatever to reconsider, much less to 
alter, the terms of an invitation extended by the General 
Society itself, but must patiently wait until the invitation has 
been honored with a distinct acceptance or rejection by the 
party invited : therefore, 

Resolved, That we send our most cordial greetings to the 
National Society of Sons of the American Revolution, and 
thank them for having magnanimously removed the original 
and only important cause of disagreement in the past, by 
voting at Richmond in favor of fresh examination and revision 
of the membership rolls, as a condition precedent to actual 
consolidation of the two societies. 

Resolved, That the sole remaining obstacle to such consoli- 
dation will have been removed, whenever the National Society 
of Sons of the American Revolution shall signify its willing- 
ness to unite with us in a single general society in accordance 
with the eminently fair and equal terms of our invitation, and 
to proceed without delay to carry out the well considered Plan 
of Union already approved by both societies at their conference 
of February 16, 1893. 

Resolved, That the invitation extended at Savannah is a 
standing invitation, as cordial as it is sincere ; and we earnestly 
hope it will yet be accepted without reservation, to the end that 
a schism which should never have existed may be healed for 
all time to come, on terms which are conspicuously honorable 
and practicable, just, equal and fair to all concerned. 

Resolved, That, if the National Society of Sons of the 
American Revolution desire now to amend or to strike out 



any particular provisions of the Constitution and Plan of Union 
which both societies unanimously agreed to in 1893, we fra- 
ternally suggest that they formulate all such desired changes, 
together with the reasons for them, and transmit to us a certi- 
fied copy of the same ; and we pledge ourselves to secure a 
full, candid and generous consideration of them at the next 
General Assembly of the Sons of the Revolution, with a view 
to arriving at last at a perfect mutual understanding and a 
satisfactory, firm, and lasting basis of union. 

No action whatever was taken upon these resolutions. 
In our opinion, if our General Officers had made them their 
answer to the resolutions adopted at Richmond, there could 
have been no complaint of their unwillingness to have any 
union at all, no complaint of their inconsistency, no complaint 
whatever of their arbitrariness or want of a conciliatory spirit. 
Yet they would have maintained with firmness the impreg- 
nable position taken at Savannah, and constrained the Sons of 
the American Revolution either to accept our invitation 
explicitly, or else to accept for themselves the responsibility 
of explicity rejecting it. For, without wavering or weakening 
in our contention that the Constitution of 1893 is on the 
whole a "well considered basis of union," they would yet have 
offered a practicable method of effecting conjointly whatever 
further amendments may be inherently reasonable or just. 
Such an answer would have rendered it ridiculous that' we 
should be charged, as we now find ourselves charged, with 
secret unwillingness to effect consolidation on fair, equal, and 
consistent terms. This is the charge now brought against us 
as a Society, if not in distinct language, at least by necessary 
and obvious implication ; and it seriously affects our dignity, 
our self-respect, and our honorable standing before the world. 
Shall we submit to it in silence, or shall we make a determined 
effort to set ourselves right, not only in our own eyes, but 
equally in the eyes of all ? 

We believe that you, as well as we, feel the moral 
necessity of prompt action in our own behalf, in order to vindi- 
cate the now impugned sincerity of our Savannah invitation, 
and in order to extricate ourselves from the undignified situa- 
tion in which we have been left by this official correspond- 



ence. We ask you, therefore, to join with us in convening a 
special meeting of the General Society at the earliest practi- 
cable date. According to our General Constitution, such a 
meeting may be held " upon the order of the General President 
or upon the request of two of the State Societies." The more 
numerous the States are that join in the request, so much 
greater will be its weight, influence, and importance. We 
hope, therefore, that you will all unite with us in requesting 
the General Officers to summon a special business meeting 
of the General Society, at some place and time to be fixed by 
them, but, if possible, not later than January or February, for 
the purpose of considering and acting upon the following 
resolutions, which will be, and hereby are, submitted to the 
General Society by the Massachusetts Society : — 

Whereas, We are unable to consider the resolutions 
adopted by the Sons of the American Revolution at Richmond, 
April 30, 1896, as either a definite acceptance or a definite re- 
jection of the invitation extended by us to them at Savannah, 
April 20, 1896 ; and 

Whereas, We have been officially informed that the Sons 
of the American Revolution object now to certain particulars 
of the Constitution and Plan of Union which, having been 
harmoniously agreed to by both societies in 1893, was for that 
reason, with a slight amendment of our own, made the basis of 
the Savannah invitation : therefore. 

Resolved, That the invitation which we extended at 
Savannah was, by its own express terms, a "standing invita- 
tion," and remains, therefore, in full force today, notwithstand- 
ing the disappointing failure of the official correspondence 
founded upon it — a failure, however, which resulted inevitably 
and solely from the undecided character of the answer given 
to the invitation itself. 

Resolved, That, undiscouraged by this failure, we now 
renew our invitation unchanged ; but that, in order to meet 
courteously and fairly the expressed desire of the Sons of the 
American Revolution for further modifications of its basis, we 
now fraternally suggest that they formulate with precision all 
such desired changes, together with the reasons for them, and 
transmit to us a certified copy of the same ; and we pledge 

10 



ourselves to secure a full, candid and generous consideration 
of them at the next General Assembly of the Sons of the 
Revolution, with a view to arriving at last at a perfect mutual 
understanding and a satisfactory, solid, and lasting basis of 
union. 

Resolved^ That our General Secretary be instructed to 
send a copy of these resolutions to the General Secretary of 
the Sons of the American Revolution, with assurance of our 
sincere desire for a speedy and successful issue of these pro- 
tracted negotiations. 

Believing that the method here proposed for reaching 
mutual agreement is not only more democratic, but also more 
likely to prove effective, than the method of secret conference 
committees, which has hitherto signally failed, we respectfully 
propose these measures for your thoughtful consideration. 

By unanimous order of the Board of Officers and Managers 
of the Massachusetts Society of Sons of the Revolution, at its 
regular monthly meeting held at Bo stony October 26, 1 896. 




GENERAL SOCIETY 



Sons of the Revolution 



APRIL J 9th, 1897. 



Digest of the Proceedings 



OF MEETING OF THE 



GENERAL SOCIETY, 



HELD IN THE HALL OF THE 



HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENMSYLVANIA, 

PHILADELPHIA, PA., 

APRIIv iQthi, 1897, 

TOGETHER WITH 

IvISX OF OFFICKRS 



General and State Societies. 



PRESS OF 

RXCHANGE PRINTING COMPANY, 
47 Broad Street. 

NEW YORK. 



Gift 
'"he> Society 



ABSTRACT OF MEETING 

OF THE 

GENERAL SOCIETY OF SONS OF THE REVOLUTION, 



IN THE HALL OF THE 



HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA, 

No. 1300 LOCUST STREET, PHILADELPHIA, 

APRIL 19, 1897. 



G. D. W. VROOM, Esq., First General Vice-President, 

Presidiiig, 



The following additional General Officers were present, 
viz. : 

Mr. John Screven, Second General Vice-President. 
Mr. James Mortimer Montgomery, General Secretary. 
Mr. William Hall Harris, Assistant General Secretary. 
Mr. Richard M. Cadwalader, General Treasurer. 
Mr. Henry Cadle, Assistant General Treasurer. 
Dr. Francis EUingwood Abbott, General Registrar. 
Mr. Gaillard Hunt, General Historian. 

Mr. Vroom : In the absence of the General President, it 
becomes my duty as General Vice-President to call this meet- 
ing of the General Society to order. The meeting will be 
opened with prayer by the Rev. Brockholst Morgan of New 
York. 

Prayer was offered by the Rev. Mr. Morgan, New York 
Society. 

The General Secretary, at the direction of the Chair, 
read the notice of meeting. 

3 



No. 146 Broadway, New York City. 

Office ok General Secretary, Society of Sons of 
THE Revolution. 

December 21, 1896. 

Secretary of the Society of Sons of the Revolution 
in the State of 

" Upon the request of the State Societies in the District 
of Cohimbia, Illinois, Ohio and Massachusetts," a special 
meeting of the General Society, Sons of the Revolution, is 
called under the provisions of the Seventh Clause of the 
Constitution. 

Respectfully, 

G. D. W. VROOM, 

First General Vice-President. 

JAMES MORTIMER MONTGOMERY, 
General Secretary. 

By direction of the First General Vice-President (ihe 
General President being absent from the country and not 
expected to return until April) the Special Meeting so called 
will be held in the City of Philadelphia, on Monday, April 
the nineteenth, A. D. 1897. Due notice of the time and 
place of said meeting will be sent to you later. 

Respectfully, 

JAMES MORTIMER MONTGOMERY, 
General Secretary. 

Under date of March 20, 1897, the notice referred to was 
sent. 

Office of the General Secretary, 
No. 146 Broadway. 

New York, March 20, 1897. 
Dear Sir : 

Through the courtesy of the Pennsylvania Historical 
Society, the Meeting of the General Society (notice of which 
was sent to you under date December 21, 1896, and copy of 

4 



which is attached), will be held in the Hall of the Historical 
Society, No. 1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, on Monday, 
April 19, 1897, at eleven o'clock A. M. 

The Pennsylvania Society, Sons of the Revolution, will 
entertain the General Society at the Hotel Stratford, at 
luncheon at two o'clock in the afternoon and at dinner at 
half-past seven o'clock in the evening. Rooms may be se- 
cured at the Hotel Stratford, at prices ranging from one to 
four dollars per day. 

You will confer a favor by returning the enclosed postal 
cards on or before April 7, 1897, stating whether you do or 
do not expect to be present. 

Yours faithfully, 

JAMES MORTIMER MONTGOMERY, 
General Secretary. 

The General Secretary then called the roll, the fol- 
lowing officers and delegates responding, viz. : 

OFFICERS. 

Garret Dorset Wall Vroom, General Vice-President. 
John Screven, Second General Vice-President. 
James Mortimer Montgomery, General Secretary. 
William Hall Harris, Assistant General Secretary. 
Richard McCall Cadwalader, General Treasurer. 
Henry Cadle, Assistant General Treasurer. 
Francis Ellingwood Abbott, General Registrar. 
Gaillard Hunt, General Historian. 

DELEGATES. 
Alabama. Connecticut, 

j<j-Qjj£_ A. Floyd Delafield, 

Timothy Jones. 

^ ' District of Cobimbia. 

James Mortimer Montgomery. Charles Fredk. T. Beale, 

Albion Keith Parris, 
Colorado. Henry Greenway Kemp, 

John Cromwell Butler, William B. Gurley, 

Edward Marsden Cooke. W. H. Clay. 



Florida. 


Missoiu'i. 


None. 


Henry Cadle. 


Georgia. 


Montana. 


Hon. W. D. Harden, 


None. 


Col. John Screven. 


New Hatnpshire. 


Illinois. 


Alfred Langdon Elwyn, 



George Mulliollen Lyon, 
Frank Kimball Root, 
George Mayliew Monlton, 
Thomas Floyd-Jones. 

Iowa. 

Theodore Wells Barhydt, 
Henry Cadle. 

Maryland. 

William Bowly Wilson, 
Thomas William Hall, 
James Wilson Patterson, 
Henry Oliver Thompson, 
Julian Henry Lee, 
Yates Pennington. 

Kentucky. 

None. 

Michigan. 

Hon. Henry W. Seymour. 

Massachusetts. 

Francis Ellingwood Abbott, 
Frank Harrison Briggs, 
Francis Rollin Spalding, 
Winthrop Wetherbee. 

Minnesota. 
Rukard Hurd. 



New Jersey. 

Col. S. Meredith Dickinson, 
Hon. Gilbert Collins, 
Richard Fowler Stevens, 
Thomas J. Yorke, Jr., 
Foster Conarro Griffith, 
Malcolm Macdonald. 

North Carolina. 

George Bradburn Curtis, 
Marshall Delancey Haywood. 

North Dakota. 
None. 

New York. 

Frederick S. Tallmadge, 
Charles H. Woodruff, 
James W. Beekman, 
Rev. Brockholst Morgan, 
Mason W. Tyler, 
Arthur Melvin Hatch, 
Charles Isliam. 

Pennsylvania. 

]\Iaj. James Edward Carpenter, 
Charles Henry Jones, 
Hon. Samuel Whitaker Pen- 
ny packer, 
Capt. Richard Strader CoUum, 
U. S. M. C, 



Edward Stalker Sayres, South Carolina. 

Col. Josiah Granville Leach, g. p, Ravenel 

Joseph Trowbridge Bailey, Q. W. Olney. 
Alexander Krumbhaar. 



Tennessee. 

None. 



West Virginia. 
Dr. R. M. Baird, 
Randolph Stalnaker, Texas. 



^, . H. M. Aubrey. 

Ohio. ^ 

John Ward Bailej^, Virginia. 

Tames Verner Guthrie, -^ ^^,,. ^^ 

"V , • ,^ TTT 1 Eugene Elhcott, 

Ephraim Morgan Wood, ^ 

/, ... ^^ ^ ^ , Judge R. T. W. Duke, Jr. 

Achilles Henry Pugh. ^ 

Rhode Island. Washington. 

W^illiam Watts Sherman. None. 

Mr. R. T. W. Duke, Jr., Virginia: Mr. President, I 
was requested by the President of the Society to say that as 
there was some doubt of his presence — there is none now of 
his presence — the Board of General Managers appointed Mr. 
Eugene Ellicott of this city as the representative for J. 
Austen Kelly. 

The Chair : On the Admission of New Societies, I 
will appoint as a committee, Mr. Marshall DeLancey Hay- 
wood of North Carolina, Mr. William B. Gurley of the 
District of Columbia, and Mr. R. T. W. Duke, Jr., of Virginia, 
and will refer to them the papers relating to societies seeking 
admission. 

The General Secretary read the first two pages of 
minutes of the Savannah meeting, when upon motion duly 
seconded, put to vote and carried, it was resolved that the 
reading of the minutes of the last meeting be dispensed with, 
save the following, viz : 

Mr. Montgomery : The resolution appears on page 25, 
and is : 

Mr. Abbott : In obedience to the instructions of the Sons 
of the Revolution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, I 



desire to offer in the name of the Massachusetts Society the 
following resolutions, viz. : 

Whereas^ the existence of two separate societies, with 
identical objects and nearly identical names, where one 
strong society alone ought to exist — to wit : Sons of the 
Revolution and Sons of the American Revolution — is an 
anomaly which perplexes the public mind, excites distrust of 
both societies, provokes injurious comment, alienates the 
sympathy of very many descendants of Revolutionary ances- 
tors whose aid is needed, and seriously interferes with the 
patriotic work to which both these societies are sincerely and 
equally devoted ; and 

Whereas^ Consolidation of these two societies in a single 
Society, on the basis of a Constitution and Plan of Union 
which had been previously agreed upon at separate meet- 
ings of the General Society of Sons of the Revolution and 
the National Society of Sons of the American Revolution 
in the City of New York, February i6, 1893, failed on ac- 
count of disagreement as to the submission of the original 
credentials and applications of all the members of all their 
respective State Societies to a fresh examination and re- 
vision, in accordance with the provisions of the new Consti- 
tution agreed upon, as a necessary preliminary to enrolling 
members of the new consolidated society ; and 

Whereas^ The necessity of this preliminary examination 
and revision, if the proposed new society is to be exclusively 
composed, and known to be exclusively composed, of actual 
descendants of Revolutionary ancestors, ought to be self 
evident ; therefore. 

Resolved^ That we, the General Society of Sons of the 
Revolution, convened in Savannah on the 20th of April, 
1896, hereby proffer, sincerely and fraternally, a standing in- 
vitation to the National Society of Sons of the American 
Revolution to unite with us in a single General Society, ac- 
cording to the terms of union which were harmoniously 
agreed upon at the separate meetings of the two existing 
Societies in New York, February 16, 1893, as amended 
by striking therefrom the third paragraph of Article III, 
which provided for the admission of collaterals ; provided, 
that prior to such actual union, the membership rolls of all 



the State Societies of both the existing societies together 
with all the original credentials and applications on which 
membership has been granted, shall be submitted for fresh 
examination and revision to a competent and disinterested 
committee, so constituted by mutual agreement of the gen- 
eral officers as to command the entire confidence of both the 
uniting societies ; and provided, further, that this committee 
shall be empowered and instructed to erase the name of any 
member, on the roll of any State Society, by whose creden- 
tials and application it would appear that he is not entitled 
to membership under such requirements of Article III of the 
Constitution agreed upon at New York, February i6, 1893, 
as relate to direct lineal descendants ; to the end that mem- 
bership in the Consolidated Society shall be indubitable proof 
of descent from one or more Revolutionary ancestors. 

Resolved^ That the Secretary of the General Society of 
Sons of the Revolution be instructed to transmit a copy of 
these resolutions to the Secretary of the National Society of 
Sons of the American Revolution, with an expression of our 
hope that they will be received in the same frank and kindly 
spirit in which they are sent. 

Omitting the text of the discussion which followed, Mr. 
Abbott spoke to the resolution, Bishop Whipple, Mr. Jones 
of Pennsylvania, Mr. Wilson of Maryland, Mr. Pugh, Mr. 
Charles F. Bell, District of Columbia; Mr. Jones, Mr. Parris, 
Judge Harden, Mr. Olyphant, Mr. Woodruff and Mr. Clarkson 
took part in the discussion. Finally the roll was called, all 
States answering " aye," except the States of Georgia and 
Florida, which asked a little further opportunity for consider- 
ation. After the roll was called Judge Harden, on behalf of 
the Society of the State of Georgia, said, " I desire to say this, 
that out of deference to the wishes of a very large majority 
the State of Georgia will acquiesce in the decision of the 
majority and vote aye. The State of Florida also votes aye." 
The resolution was accordingly carried by the unanimous 
vote of every State Society present. 

Minutes of last meeting on motion duly seconded ap- 
proved. 



The Secretary submitted the following report, viz. : 
It may be said that the number of members upon the 
rolls on the igtli of April, 1896, taken altogether, was 5,168, 
the largest society being New York. 574 members were ad- 
mitted in the whole society, 62 died, loi resigned, so that 
the details made up to the 19th of April, 1897, are, members 
5,579, showing a net gain of 411. The number of insignia 
is 2,306. I can, sir, give the present membership of the 
Society in a moment. It is as follows, viz. : 



Alabama, 


29 


Montana, 


38 


California, 


64 


New Hampshire, 


23 


Colorado, 


90 


New Jersey, 


119 


Connecticut, 


92 


New York, 


1,892 


District of Columbia, 


242 


North Carolina, 


34 


Florida, 


24 


North Dakota, 


12 


Georgia, 


142 


Ohio, 


246 


Illinois, 


166 


Pennsylvania, 


1,025 


Iowa, 


134 


Rhode Island, 


29 


Kentucky, 


20 


South Carolina, 


62 


Maryland, 


127 


Tennessee, 


29 


Massachusetts, 


360 


Texas, 


12 


Michigan, 


21 


Virginia, 


44 


Minnesota, 


91 


West Virginia, 


46 


Missouri, 


351 


Washington, 


15 



Received and placed on file. 



Total, 



5)579 



The Treasurer submitted the following report, viz. : 

Richard M. Cadwalader, General Treasurer, 

in account with 

General Society Sons of the Revolution. 

1896. 
Apr. 20, Cash balance, $504.33 

May I, Certificate Fund, Interest U. S. Bond, $12.50 
2, " " Balance, Cost of Bond 

from Gen. Sec, 171.25 

4, Assessment, 1896, New York, 300.00 
7, " " Maryland, 61.00 

14, " " Pennsylvania, 300.00 

Aug. 5, Certificate Fund, Interest U. S. Bond, 12.50 

Sept. 19, Assessment, 1896, Massachusetts, i73-50 

Oct. I, " " Minnesota, 42.50 

2, " " Colorado, 36.00 

2, " " Ohio, 110.50 

5, " " Tennessee, 15.00 
5, " " Washington, 7.50 
5, " " Missouri, 151.00 
7, " " District of Columbia, 118.00 

12, " " Texas, 6.50 

13, " " South Carolina, 27.50 

14, " " New Jersey, 58.50 
21, " " Virginia, 13-00 
29, " " Illinois, 73-00 

29, " " Iowa, 57-00 
Nov. 2, Certificate Fund, Interest U. S. Bond, 12.50 
Dec. 18, Assessment, 1896, Kentucky, 9,50 

18, " " Georgia, 62.50 

1897. 

Jan. 5, " " Connecticut, 40.50 

18, " " New Hampshire, 9.00 

18, " " North Carolina, 12.00 

30, Interest on Deposit, 9.39 
Feb. I, Certificate Fund, Interest U. S. Bond, 12.50 
Mch. 24, Assessment, 1896, West Virginia, i7-50 

1,932.14 

$2,436.47 





— Cr.— 






Expenses of annual meeting, 


$767-51 




(( 


" General Secretary, 


826.77 




(< 


" General Treasurer, 


33-00 




(( 


" Organizing Committee, 


85.64 




(( 


" General Registrar, 


284.50 




(( 


" Hon. W. F. Draper, Com- 
mittee on Patents, House 








of Representatives, 


50.00 




Printing 


and distributing sennon of 








Rev. Chas. H. Strong, 


44.62 


$2,092.04 


1897. 








April 19th, Cash balance, 




34443 



RECAPITULATION. 
General Fund. 
Cash Balance, April 20, 1896, $638.08 

Receipts, 1,710.89 



$221.25 
April 20th, balance due General Treas., 133.75 



$2,436.47 



$2,348.97 
Expenditures, 2,092.04 



General Fund — balance, $256.93 

C ertificate Fund. 
Received from General Secretary, $171.25 

" " Interest, 50.00 



Certified Fund — balance, 87.50 



Cash balance, $344.43 

RICHARD M. CADWAIvADER, 

General Treasurer. 
E. & O. E. April 19, 1897. 

Referred to Auditing Committee. 

The Chair appointed as Auditing Committee Mr. J. Gran" 
ville Leach of Pennsylvania ; Mr. Arthur M. Hatch of New- 
York ; Mr. John Cromwell Butler of Colorado, and Mr^ 
Ralph Peters of Ohio. Mr. Peters not present. 



Mr. Montgomery submitted report ot 
CERTIFICATE FUND. 

New York, April 19, 1897. 

Balance April 19, 1896, $351-23 

Deposits, 285. 1 c 

I636.33 
Disbursements. 

1. R. M. Cadwalader, General Treasurer, $171.25 

2. Tiffany & Company, 7.75 

3. Kimmel & Vogt, 142.50 

4. E. A. Weaver, 1.25 

5. Tiffany & Company, 9.85 

6. Ames & Rollinson, 14-25 

7. E. A. Weaver, i.oo 

8. Ames & Rollinson, 9.00 

9. Tiffany & Company, 9.75 

10. Tiffany & Company, 20.00 

11. Ames & Rollinson, 37-55 424- 15 



;2i2.i! 



JAMES MORTIMER MONTGOMERY, 

General Secretary. 

The Chair : The same will be referred to the Auditing 
Committee at the same time with the Treasurer's account. 

The Committee on the Admission of New Societies after 
retiring returned and stated that having examined the creden- 
tials and papers of the Michigan State Society recommended 
the admission of that society. 

Upon motion that the report be adopted, Mr. Woodruff 
raised the point that the meeting was a special one, which 
point was overruled, the Chair deciding that the meeting was 
called generally. Motion seconded, put to vote and carried. 

The Secretary called the roll upon the question of the 
admission of the State of Michigan, with the following 
result : California, aye ; Colorado, aye ; Connecticut, aye ; 
District of Columbia, aye ; Georgia, aye ; Illinois, aye ; 
Iowa, aye ; Maryland, aye ; Massachusetts, aye ; Minnesota, 



aye ; Missouri, aye ; New Hampshire, aye ; New Jersey, aye ; 
New York, aye ; North Carolina, aye ; Ohio, aye ; Pennsyl- 
vania, aye ; Rhode Island, aye ; South Carolina, aye ; Texas, 
aye ; Virginia, aye ; West Virginia, aye. 

The Chair declared the State of Michigan duly admitted, 
and invited the delegates from the State of Michigan to come 
forward and take their seats with the other delegates. 

The next business in order being General Correspond- 
ence, the Secretary read the following letter : 

Paris, March 31, 1897. 

J. Mortimer Montgomery, Esq., 

General Secretary, etc. 

My Dear Sir : — I am in receipt of your letter of the 17th. 
I regret, more than I am able to express, that I cannot be 
with you at the General Meeting on April 19th. The deli- 
cate state of Mrs. Carroll's health will make it impossible for 
me to leave her. 

I feel, however, such a deep and lively interest in the 
welfare and future of our Society of the Sons of the Revo- 
lution, that at the risk of intruding upon the meeting, I 
would be glad to express, through you, to the assembled del- 
eo-ates, my views in reference to certain points of the contro- 
versy which has arisen between the Sons of the American 
Revolution and our Society. 

The Society of the Sons of the Revolution, founded in 
the City of New York in 1883, was the outcome of very 
wise and patriotic counsels on the part of many distinguished 
citizens. Every item of its constitution was most carefully 
considered, its objects faithfully set forth, and its name was 
decided upon as one which would appeal to our dearest mem- 
ories and most patriotic pride as citizens of a common country. 

In its scope and purpose it was intended to be as broad as 
the domain of our favored land, and it was fondly hoped that 
in time it would embrace the name of every citizen who 
could lawfully claim direct descent from those who had 
labored for our country in its day of trial. 

Our founders never intended that two Societies with 
identical purposes should exist, and provision was m«ade for 

14 



the extension of its privileges throughout every State and 
Territory of our Union. 

It was also intended that no political or religious faith 
should ever be made a test for the admission of its members, 
but the scnitiny of its managers was to be imperative as to 
the Revolutionary credentials of every man who was offered 
as a candidate for admission. 

Under these wise and patriotic regulations, our Society 
has had its full share of prosperity, and to-day its members 
number more than five thousand men. 

It therefore appears to me, that we will be called upon at 
this meeting, in a great measure, to decide whether this 
Society is to be continued upon the basis on which it has 
grown and prospered, or whether it is to become the subject 
of such changes as majorities may dictate, without reference 
to the sentiment or impulses which ruled its origin. 

Heretofore we have always acted upon the theory that no 
radical changes of name, constitution or patriotic purposes 
were necessary to enlist the interest of our fellow citizens, or 
to aid the progress of our Society. 

When, therefore, we met in National Convention in 
Savannah, in April, 1896, we issued an invitation to the 
Society of the Sons of the American Revolution to " unite 
with us in a single Society, according to the terms of union 
which were unanimously agreed upon at the separate meet- 
ings of the two Societies in New York on February 16, 

1893-" 

The correspondence which ensued upon this subject will 
clearly show that our invitation was not accepted, but that in 
its place suggestions were made that committees should be 
appointed to review the entire relations of the two Societies 
toward each other, and to form a new basis of union which 
might in the end be acceptable to both. 

It will be further seen that the General Officers of the 
Society of the Sons of the American Revolution have indi- 
cated in these letters a most earnest wish to adopt measures 
as a basis for union of the two Societies, which involve not 
only a radical change in many important items in the consti- 
tution, but even in the name itself, of which we have always 
been so justly proud. 

IS 



No one can carefully read the letter of the 28th of July 
addressed to us, without being startled at the suggestions it 
contains, or humiliated at the prospect of the destruction of 
many of the best attributes of our Society. 

It is impossible to say with certainty what was the 
" animus " which dictated this letter, but as the " large 
majority^'' of the Sons of the American Revolution is dis- 
tinctly referred to, we have at least a right to suppose that 
when once this union is effected, the majority will be prepared 
to carry out such measures of " reform " as they have frankly 
expressed in this communication. 

On the other hand, we have always held that the Society 
of the Sons of the Revolution is a conservative body, proud 
of its origin, proud of its progress, and most distinctly 
wedded to its colors and its name, and it is not surprising that 
a feeling of uneasiness should prevail among our members, 
when it is feared that a mere majority vote may break up 
forever our cherished relations with the past, and destroy the 
principle of moderation and conservatism which has always 
guided our counsels. 

Entertaining, therefore, these views, and acting for the 
great future of our Society, I would most earnestly favor the 
proposition to renew the resolution which was offered to the 
Society of the Sons of the American Revolution at our Gen- 
eral Meeting in Savannah on the 20th of April, 1896, and 
would disavow, once and for all, the purpose of making radi- 
cal changes of the name, constitution or character of our 
organization. 

In conclusion, I have only to say that, as your Executive 
Officer, I most cheerfully accept the full responsibility for 
our share of the correspondence above referred to, and have 
no apology to make for having faithfully followed the instruc- 
tions of those whom I was in honor bound to obey. 

I am. 

Your obedient servant, 

[Signed] JOHN LEE CARROLL. 

Moved, seconded, put to vote and carried, that the reading 
of further correspondence be dispensed with. 

16 



General Business being in order, the Secretary, at the 
request of Mr. Baird of West Virginia, read the following 
resolutions offered by him, viz : 

Whereas^ The Government of the United States, for the 
purpose of promoting patriotism and national spirit, has ac- 
quired title to the battlefields of Gettysburg, and has per- 
mitted to be erected thereon suitable monuments and tablets 
to mark the positions of the various commands of the Federal 
Army which participated in that battle ; 

And Whereas^ The battlefield of Chickamauga has also 
l)een acquired and converted into a national park for a simi- 
lar purpose ; 

And IVJicreas^ Congress erected at Yorktown a monu- 
ment, which was dedicated upon the one hundredth anniver- 
sary of the surrender of the British Army at that place, in 
commemoration of the closing decisive battle of the Revolu- 
tionary War ; 

Aiid Whereas, No monument or other memorial has been 
erected by Congress upon any of the battlefields of the Revo- 
lution, in commemoration of the services of the American 
soldiers who participated therein ; 

And Wliereas, There is no spot more appropriate for the 
■erection of a suitable monument or memorial to commemo- 
rate the patriotism, fidelity and sufferings of the American 
soldiers in the War of the Revolution than at Valley Forge ; 

Resolved, That our delegates to the annual meeting of the 
General Society, to be held in Philadelphia on April 19, 1897, 
be instructed to use their best efforts to have the General 
Society urge Congress, by memorial or otherwise, to erect a 
suitable monument upon the camp ground at Valley Forge, 
in memory of the suffering, endurance and patriotism of those 
who there, in the terrible winter of 1777-8, remained faithful 
to the cause of the Colonies under circumstances the most 
adverse and trying to which men in any cause could be sub- 
jected, and whose conduct during that terrible ordeal forms 
one of the brightest pages in American history. 

Adopted April 5, 1897. 

AIvEX. UPDEGRAFF, 

Secretary Society of the Sons of the Revolution 

in the State of West Virginia. 

17 



Mr. Baird having said that these resolutions were sub- 
mitted for the approval of the General Society, it was moved,, 
seconded, put to vote and carried that the General Society 
approve of these Resolutions. 

Mr. J. Granville Leach : Mr. Chairman, may I report 
for the Auditing Committee ? The Auditing Committee has 
found the accounts of the Treasurer correct, and they move 
an appropriation of $250 for the expenses of this general 
meeting, and recommend the same rate of assessment as was 
made at the last meeting. 

Report of the Auditing Committee unanimously adopted. 

The Chair : Is there any other general business ? 

Mr. E. Morgan Wood, of Ohio : Mr. Chainnan, repre- 
senting, sir, as I am sure I do, a very strong sentiment in this 
Society, which looks upon the Society, not simply as a con- 
gregation of those who have inherited the glory and are try- 
ing to walk in the footsteps of their Revolutionary sires, but 
believes that the spirit of patriotism and the generous spread 
of it throughout the nation's boundary will make strong our 
republic, insure its growth, justify the national pride which 
we have, and is anxious that the boundary lines which have 
divided Societies bent upon the same object, animated by the 
same spirit as ourselves, shall be wiped away, and that instead 
of two organizations moving in parallel lines, divided in their 
efforts, holding back many who would join with them in their 
efforts but for the reason of their lack of ability to decide as 
to the respective merits, differing nothing in the question of 
admission to membership, we should have, I say, instead of 
these two organizations one grand national organization (ap- 
plause), moving forward with a momentum impelled by the 
power of union for which our fathers strove and which many 
of us living have fought to maintain ; that the power gained 
by that union should be felt and would induce a growth of 
patriotism throughout all the land. These Societies, sir, 
amount to nothing if they are not educational, if they are not 
formed to keep burning bright forever the fire of patriotism, 
which shall be a light set upon a hill to be seen not only by 
the inhabitants of these United States, but by the nations of 

18 



all the world ; which shall be a lighthouse to lighten them to^ 
the country where liberty can be had and where patriotism is 
taught. In that spirit, sir, and representing that feeling I 
beg to offer and move the adoption of the following preamble 
and resolutions : 

IVJiereas^ The Sons of the American Revolution in re- 
sponse to the invitation contained in the resolution passed by 
this Society at Savannah, in April, 1896, have signified their 
willingness to unite with us in one national organization. 

Whereas^ We regard and believe that they regard the 
actual union of the two Societies as of such paramount im- 
portance that the settlement of the details of union should 
be subordinated, as far as consistent with the honor and 
dignity of both Societies, to the accomplishment of that end ; 
therefore. 

Resolved, That A. H. Pugh, F. E. Abbott, Timothy L. 
Woodruff", Horace K. Tenney and Gaillard Hunt shall be a 
committee of five with full power to fill any vacancies, in 
behalf of the General Society of the Sons of the Revolution ; 
and we respectfully request the National Society of Sons of 
the American Revolution to appoint a like committee of five 
in its own behalf, these two committees of five each to consti- 
tute together the above named joint Committee of Conference 
on basis of union, which shall consider the constitution and 
plan of union of 1893, and all proposed changes thereto, and 
come to an agreement, if possible, respecting a new general 
constitution and a plan of union between the Societies. 
Each constituent committee of five shall report to its own 
General Assembly the results of the conference, togethei with 
its own recommendations respecting them. 

Resolved, That our own general officers are instructed to 
arrange as soon as possible with the general officers of the 
Sons of the American Revolution for the appointment of a 
Joint Committee of Revision of the membership rolls, which 
shall be prepared at least as early as October 12, 1897, to 
make to the two General Assemblies an exhaustive report, in 
accordance with the resolutions passed at Savannah and 
Richmond, in April, 1896. 

Resolved, That we, the General Society of Sons of the 
Revolution, hereby appoint an adjourned meeting of this 

19 



General Assembly, to be held at Cincinnati, Ohio, October 
12, 1897, at II A. M., and we respectfully request the National 
Society of Sons of the American Revolution, provided the 
Joint Committee of Conference on basis of union shall have 
arrived meanwhile at an agreement, to hold a General Assem- 
bly of their own in the same city at the same time in order 
that the two General Assemblies may then and there provide 
for a General Assembly of the consolidated societies, in 
accordance with the reports of the two joint committees, and 
take whatever steps may be necessary to effect, as far as pos- 
sible, the actual union of the societies. 

Resolved^ That immediately after this General Assembly 
of the consolidated societies, and the complete organization 
of a new General or National Society, each State Society of the 
Sons of the Revolution shall be authorized to unite with the 
similar State Society of Sons of the American Revolution, 
under a State constitution in entire accordance with that of 
the General or National Society just formed, but not otherwise ; 
to the end that the Sons of the Revolution and the Sons of 
the American Revolution may be henceforth a single national 
organization, on a single, universal and permanent founda- 
tion. 

Resolved^ That our General Secretary be hereby instructed 
to transmit a copy of these resolutions to the Secretary Gen- 
eral of the Sons of the American Revolution. 

Mr. Charles Henry Jones, Pennsylvania : I move to 
amend that resolution by striking out the names of the com- 
mittee therein suggested, and inserting in lieu thereof that a 
committee of five be appointed by the Chair. 

Motion seconded. 

The Chair : The question will now be upon the motion 
of the gentleman from Pennsylvania, to eliminate so much 
of the resolution as names the committee, and for the Chair 
to appoint a committee of five. 

Mr. Wood : Inasmuch as there is no business which will 
come before us at the present time more important than this, 
while I do not like to delay the proceedings, I would like a roll 
call on this amendment. 

The Secretary: Are the gfeneral officers entitled to vote? 



The Chair : I rule that they are. 

The Secretary proceeded to call the roll with the follow- 
ing result, viz. : 

General Vice-President Vroom : I will not vote. 

Ayes : Second Vice-President, General Secretary, Assist- 
ant General Secretary, General Treasurer, California, Connec- 
ticut, Georgia, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New 
York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Vir- 
ginia. 

Noes : Assistant General Treasurer, General Registrar, 
General Historian, Colorado, District of Columbia, Illinois, 
Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North 
Carolina, Ohio, Texas and West Virginia. 

The Secretary : Mr. President, the result of the vot- 
ing by the roll is a tie. Of the States, twelve have voted 
Aye and thirteen No. Of the general officers, four have 
voted Aye and three No, making sixteen votes each. 

The Vice-President : I will vote aye. 

Mr. Wood : May I be heard one moment upon a question 
of privilege? 

The Chair : You may. 

Mr. Wood : I desire the Chair to rule whether the gen- 
eral officers are entitled to vote on a matter of this kind, and 
whether there is authority given by the constitution for the 
general officers to vote on a question of this kind. 

The Chair : There is such authority. In the first place, 
every one knows that the General Society is composed of the 
general officers and the delegates elected by the State Socie- 
ties, and it has always been the custom upon all occasions 
at every meeting at which I have been present for the general 
officers to vote on a matter of this kind, and for that reason 
I directed the Secretary to call their names. 

Mr. Wood : The President says it has always been the 
custom. Has that question ever been raised and ruled upon ? 

Mr. Harris : Yes, that question was raised at the Boston 
meeting of the Society. It was raised and ruled upon. 

Amendment of Mr. Jones of Pennsylvania is adopted. 

Mr. Jones (Pennsylvania) asks Mr. Wood (Ohio) to ex- 
plain the resolution providing for the work of the Committee 



on Credentials. As at present proposed, it provides a limited 
time for the appointment of the Committee and a limited 
time within which its work is to be done. In order to ac- 
complish their work within the prescribed time they must 
begin work at once. When the committee takes up this work 
where will it find the qualifications of membership which are 
to be applied as the test to each application ? It cannot adopt 
those which are to be found in the Constitution of the Sons of 
the Revolution, nor can it adopt those which are found in the 
C onstitution of the Sons of the American Revolution. Neither 
of these constitutions will furnish the correct test of member- 
ship. 

When this resolution was passed in Savannah, we had 
before us the constitution of 1893, which contained a dis- 
tinctive qualification of membership, and it was understood 
that this Joint Committee should test every applicant for 
membership by the qualifications of that clause. But now 
the constitution of 1893 is not accepted. Then we have no 
basis of qualification which is to act as a test upon those ap- 
plications, and the Committee would have nothing to go by. 
It seems to me, therefore, that this resolution will either have 
to be modified in some way, so as to make it operative and 
practical, or else it is necessary to strike it out. 

Mr. Cable : I understand the delegate from the State of 
New Hampshire voted under a misapprehension, and I under- 
stand that he desires to move a reconsideration of this vote. 

Mr. Elwyn of New Hampshire : That is a fact. I did 
vote under a misapprehension. 

The Chair : The question is open to reconsideration. 

Moved and seconded that the question be reconsidered. 

Mr. Wood : I trust the motion is thoroughly understood. 
That the question is a reconsideration of the amendment of 
Mr. Jones to strike out the names of the committee suggested, 
and to authorize the Chairman to appoint them. That to 
vote Aye for reconsideration is to bring the question up for 
reconsideration again. 

The Chair : I think the Society so considers it. 

The question is upon the motion to reconsider the vote by 
which the amendment was adopted. 

Mr. Collins : The amendment will have to be put to vote. 



The Secretary proceeded to call the roll. 

Ayes : Assistant General Treasurer, General Registrar, 
General Historian, Colorado, District of Columbia, Illinois, 
Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New 
Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and West Virginia. 

Noes : General Vice-President, Second Vice-President, 
General Secretary, Assistant General Secretary, General 
Treasurer, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, New 
Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Caro- 
lina and Virginia. 

The Secretary announces the vote as, Ayes i6. Noes 15. 

The Chair : The motion to reconsider the vote has been 
carried. The question now will be upon the amendment 
offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania upon which the 
roll of the Society has been called. 

Mr. Wood : Will the Chair state the amendment ? 

The Chair : The amendment is to strike out so much 
of the resolution, that is, of the first resolution offered by the 
gentleman from Ohio, as names the members of the Com- 
mittee to be appointed on behalf of the General Society of 
Sons of the Revolution, and to authorize the Chair to appoint 
the Committee. That is the amendment. All in favor of 
this amendment, when their names are called, will answer 
aye, opposed, no. 

The Secretary proceeded to call the roll. 

Ayes : General Vice-President, Second Vice-President, 
General Secretary, Assistant General Secretary, General Treas- 
urer, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, 
New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and 
Virginia. 

Noes : Assistant General Treasurer, General Registrar, 
General Historian, Colorado, District of Columbia, Illinois, 
Iowa, Michigan, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New 
Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and West Virginia. 

Mr. Elwyn asks to change his vote. 

The Secretary : The vote as recorded is 15 Ayes, 16 Noes. 

The Chair : The motion of the gentleman from Pennsyl- 
vania amending this portion of the resolutions of the gentle- 
man from Ohio is lost. The resolution is still before the 
house. I would like to ask a question from the chair of the 



gentleman from Ohio, because it may be my duty to rule 
upon a part of these resolutions as possibly out of order. 
This resolution providing for the meeting of the two general 
assemblies in October, at Cincinnati, to take steps to effect, as 
far as possible, the actual union of the societies. The mover 
of the resolution must have been aware that the carrying out 
of the objects of the resolution, as a matter of course, would 
import an amendment of our constitution. You cannot 
unite this society with another society without changing 
the constitution under which we act. The constitution can 
only be changed by the votes of the several State Societies. 
It has already been ruled by the General Society of the Sons 
of the Revolution that it requires the vote of every State 
Society to change the fundamental covenant, the constitution 
of the Sons of the Revolution. Now, if that is so, how is it 
possible that any steps can be taken toward the union of these 
societies at Cincinnati ? I want to call the attention of the 
gentleman to it, because it might provoke considerable dis- 
cussion and may make a great deal of trouble. The question 
of submitting the matter of union to a committee is one 
thing, the question of accomplishing the union is another 
thing; and therefore, it seems to me no steps should be taken 
here which would be directly in violation of the constitution; 
and before leaving that matter I want to submit that question 
to the gentleman. I think the matter is out of order as it 
stands now. 

The Chair states, in response to a request to have read 
the clause of the constitution in reference to amendments, 
that there is no provision in the constitution for amendments, 
that the general constitution is a compact between the State 
Societies and the General Society, and having been adopted 
unanimously can only be changed by unanimous vote ; that 
you might bring to Cincinnati the Sons of the American 
Revolution, but if you cannot unite with them what would be 
the object. 

Mr. Duke : It seems to me that the point is well taken, 
and assuming this resolution is carried it leaves the matter in 
abeyance. The two General Societies are to meet in Cincin- 
nati and there provide for a union and for a general assembly 
of the consolidated societies, and whatever steps may be neces- 

24 



sary to effect, as far as possible, the actual union of the societies ; 
but no union can take place until after that general conven- 
tion, the action of which would be referred to the State Soci- 
eties, to take whatever steps should be necessary for this 
union. I should certainly vote against any resolution likely 
to result in the amalgamation of these two societies until alJ 
the State Societies shall have acted upon it. 

The Chair : I desire to call your attention to the proba- 
ble outcome of this resolution that the Society may not be 
be placed in a wrong position. It may be assumed that the 
words " and there provide for a General Assembly of the 
consolidated societies at some place " would give power to 
these gentlemen to meet and unite. 

Mr. Duke : That is qualified by the following language : 
" In accordance with the reports of the two joint committees, 
and take whatever steps are necessary to effect, as far as pos- 
sible, the actual union of the societies." 

Mr. Collins : The difficulty can be met by striking out 
the words " of the consolidated societies." 

Mr. PuGH : The movers of this resolution are willing to 
accept the omission of those words. 

Judge Harden : I ask merely to say a word, which I 
would not have said if the Chair had not suggested the point, 
but would have reserved it for further discussion later. It is 
as to the scope and effect of this resolution. As I understand 
it, this Society now is to say whether we will meet in Cincin- 
nati at a certain time. Then we ask the other Society that 
they will meet there at the same time, certainly with no view 
of trifling or frittering away the time of either one of these 
joint committees, and that this joint committee so provided 
for shall report its action to the respective general societies. 
These general societies will each meet separately, and hold 
general assemblies there in the same city at the same time, in 
order that the two general assemblies may then and there 
provide for a general assembly of the consolidated societies. 
Now, if we strike out the word " consolidated " or leave the 
word " consolidated " in, it seems to me to make absolutely 
no difference, because each society, the Sons of the Revolu- 
tion and the Sons of the American Revolution, are meeting 
separately to arrange for a meeting together, and if they 

25 



meet together they can only meet together as the general 
assemblies of the two societies, and not as one society ; and 
then take whatever steps are necessary to effect, as far as 
possible, the actual union of the societies. I hold that the 
point is exceedingly well taken that the convention of the 
Sons of the Revolution and the convention of the Sons of 
the American Revolution appointed together cannot act to- 
gether as one body, unless the societies be consolidated, and 
that they cannot be consolidated until the consent of every 
State Society to such consolidation has taken place. 

Mr. Wood : We will cross that bridge when we come to 
it. The friends of this resolution have no desire to force 
them down by the simple power of votes, and against the 
wishes of those who differ honestly with them. Both of us 
have at heart the welfare and the prosperity of our much be- 
loved Society (applause). The question is just how it is best 
to reach it. In what way can this Society carry out the ob- 
jects proposed by it, now enunciated by it to the world ? I 
am willing, therefore, so far as I have anything to say in this 
matter, to concede all these contested points where we differ 
in opinion, which do not go to the life of the resolution, but 
I am not willing to give up that. I am willing to go further 
than the gentleman proposes. I am willing to strike out the 
words "and there provide for a general assembly of the 
consolidated societies," so that it shall read "to hold a gene- 
ral assembly of their own in the same city at the same time, 
in order that the two general assemblies may then, in accord- 
ance with the joint reports of the two joint committees, take 
whatever steps are necessary to effect the actual union of the 
societies." If we do not agree upon those steps, if we do not 
show by our feeling, if those two committees do not agree to 
present a joint committee report favoring this union, we can- 
not go further. If that report is not endorsed by us, we can 
go no further, and there will be no necessity for a joint as- 
sembly. If it does go further, then will be time enough to 
provide for the general assembly ; we will provide for it when 
we meet there. I am willing, as far as I am concerned, to 
leave the question whether we shall have a joint assembly at 
all to the action of the committee at Cincinnati. 

Mr. Stevens : It seems to me that these resolutions ig- 

26 



nore the fact that every change of the constitution must be 
accepted by every individual State Society in our organiza- 
tion. There is nothing of the kind in this resolution ; only 
the last resolution but one reads that " Immediately after this 
general assembly of the consolidated societies, and the com- 
plete organization of a new general or national society, each 
State Society of the Sons of the Revolution shall be author- 
ized to unite with the similar State Society of Sons of the 
American Revolution, under a State constitution in entire 
accordance with that of the general or national society just 
formed, but not otherwise ; to the end that the Sons of the 
Revolution and the Sons of the American Revolution may 
be henceforth a single national organization, on a single, 
universal and permanent foundation." Now, if a copy of 
these resolutions be handed to the committee of the Sons of 
the American Revolution without any information to them 
that it will require the consent of every State Society in our 
organization, we may be leading them into error. They 
might think that the committee had full power to consoli- 
date. I would suggest to the gentleman from Ohio that he 
insert an additional amendment or resolution to this effect, 
that it will require the assent of every State Society in this 
organization before a complete organization may be made 
with the Sons of the American Revolution. 

Mr. Collins : I suggest that the last resolution but two 
is all straight if you strike out the words " in order that the 
two general assemblies may then and there provide for a 
general assembly of the consolidated societies, in accordance 
with the reports of the two joint committees, and take what- 
ever steps may be necessary to effect, as far as possible, the 
actual union of the societies." If you strike out those words 
you do not need the next resolution at all. If you intend it, 
you certainly must strike out the words " immediately after 
this general assembly of the consolidated societies." It would 
read : " Resolved, That immediately after," but I don't see 
the slightest need of the next to the last resolution. 

Mr. Delafield : I move to strike out all after the pre- 
amble and the first resolution. 

Motion seconded. 

Mr. Wood : I trust that motion will not prevail. The 

27 



point made by my friend from the Pennsylvania Society that 
there was no criterion or no test of membership provided I 
take to be the very gist of this whole thing. If we want 
union, it is as members of the same society upon the same 
footing. I am not willing to leave to uncertainty the qualifi- 
cations for eligibility to be drafted alone hereafter. I want it 
to be settled now. I therefore do not want a second resolution 
providing for a committee of revision. I do not want the 
resolution providing for the meeting to be stricken out, nor 
do I want the other resolution stricken out. Let us go as far 
as we can. If we cannot get to the point which we desire, let 
us go as far as possible. If it requires a compromise, let us 
in the spirit of fairness meet them half way. Every one de- 
sires a union, and the simple question is the basis on which 
the union shall be made. I therefore trust that the motion 
which the gentleman made may not be carried. 

Judge Pennyp ACKER : It may, perhaps, be germane to the 
resolution which has been offered by the gentleman on my 
right to call attention to my thought that this fourth resolu- 
tion is an exposition of what was meant by the third resolu- 
tion, and is open to the objection which was suggested to ^-ou, 
that it is unconstitutional, since it provides that each State 
Society of the Sons of the Revolution shall be authorized to 
unite with the similar State Society of the Sons of the Amer- 
ican Revolution under state constitution in entire accordance 
with that of the general or national society just formed. It 
looks like instructing our State Societies that they may go off 
and leave this organization and unite with another under a 
constitution to be formed at this assembly of the two different 
societies. That, in effect, is to overthrow the constitution 
under which we are now acting. I suggest to you and to 
the gentleman from Ohio that it is open to that objection. 

Mr. Wood : Will the gentleman read the first seven or 
eight lines, which do away with that objection ? 

Judge Pennyp ACKER : I do not catch your thought. 
" That immediately after this general assembly of the con- 
solidated societies," — that is, the general assembly which is 
brought about by the meeting of the two societies, " and for 
the organization of the new general or national society, each 
State Society of the Sons of the Revolution shall be author- 

28 



ized to unite with the similar State Society of Sons of the 
American Revolution, under a state constitution in entire ac- 
cordance with that of the general or national society just 
formed." That is, it looks to the organization of a society 
with a new constitution, and directs that our State Societies 
may accept that constitution. 

Mr. Wood : The gentleman's point is well taken, of 
course. I beg his pardon, because I have in my mind an 
amendment — 

Mr. DeIvAFIeld : Mr. Chairman — 

The Chair : The gentleman from Connecticut is in order. 

Mr. PuGH : Do I understand that the gentleman from 
Connecticut moves to strike out everything but the preamble 
and the first resolution ? 

Mr. Delafield : Yes. 

Mr. PuGH : He does not intend that this Committee on 
Credentials shall go into effect. We want to understand the 
effect of the resolution about to be voted upon. Everything 
shall be erased after the first resolution. 

The Chair : That is the motion. 

Judge Harden : As I understand it, the question now be- 
fore the society is the motion of the gentleman from Connecti- 
cut, Mr. Delafield, to strike out all from this paper after the 
first resolution? I would favor that amendment. I will 
favor that amendment, and I will as briefly as I can state the 
reasons why I favor it, hoping that what I may say will bring 
before this assembly some facts which perhaps some of the 
members, some of the newer members, may not have hereto- 
fore had called to their attention. I go heart and hand with 
the gentleman from Ohio, Mr. Wood, when he says, this is an 
association where harmony is necessary and advisable above 
all other things. That was not his language, that was the 
substance of it. I take it for granted that every man in this 
association as a delegate, and every man who aided to send 
them here, is actuated by but one motive, and that the good 
of the society. I claim that for myself. I yield it to everyone 
else. Therefore, when we are going to undertake an import- 
ant question, a question which involves the very existence of 
the society, we must consider it harmoniously, carefully and 
-candidly. I, therefore, will now at this point ask the indul- 

29 



gence of the gentlemen presenting those resolutions, while I 
proceed to protest against them in the fairest, the most candid 
and most respectful manner, and to state why I, personally, 
with some others with whom I have consulted, cannot concur 
with the movants, and why we think, if they are to be 
passed at all, they should be passed in a very modified form. 

The first " whereas " states : " Whereas, The Sons of the 
American Revolution, in response to the invitation contained 
in the resolution passed by this Society at Savannah in April, 
1896, have signified their willingness to unite with us in one 
national organization." That is true, but it is a long way 
from being all the truth. The facts are, as must be known 
to every gentleman here, if he has had interest enough in the 
society to try to inform himself, that the Sons of the Ameri- 
can Revolution, in response to the invitation passed in 
Savannah, passed unanimously, have failed to act upon the 
invitation which we have sent them. They said neither yes 
nor no, but they said, we are willing to unite with you on a 
basis to be hereafter determined. It is a well known maxim 
of law, and not only well known, but perhaps oftener applied 
than almost any other, that the expression of one thing is the 
exclusion of another. When we agree with you that we will 
come together, provided a suitable basis can be arranged, we 
necessarily mean but not on the basis which you have proposed. 
Now at that meeting in Savannah, as you have heard from the 
minutes of it, the Society of the State of Georgia, which I 
had the honor to represent, hesitated long, and finally, much 
against its judgment, but for the sake of harmony, voted for 
the resolutions introduced by Dr. Abbott from the Massachu- 
setts Society ; but before it did it, it was assured in the most 
positive, direct and unequivocal manner that there was no 
secret meaning, there was no secret intention lurking behind 
those words, it was fair and square and open, we mean what 
we say, we mean no more and we mean no less, and for that 
reason we of Georgia voted, and for that reason I think every 
other State Society voted for it. 

Now, in good faith, that resolution has been presented to 
the Sons of the American Revolution. Is it met in good 
faith ? The gentlemen who are the officers and who are the 
members of the Society of the Sons of the American Revo- 

30 



lution are intelligent, extremely intelligent, and not only 
that, they are astute, extremely astute. They knew what 
they were doing, they knew they were temporizing with us, 
they knew that they would not accept the proposition as 
made, unmodified, but they did not say so, and they did not 
say so for a purpose ; they have made no response to that 
proposition, they have taken no notice of it further than to call 
the attention of the general officers of this Society to a proposi- 
tion which they, the American Society, made to our general 
officers, and which they knew when they made it our general 
officers had no power to accept. Therefore, it seems to me when 
we say " The Sons of the American Revolution, in response to 
the invitation contained in the resolution passed by this Society 
at Savannah, in April, 1896, have signified their willingness to 
unite with us in one national organization," as I say, we are 
stating the truth, but an extremely small part of it. Our 
proposition is that we will unite with you upon the basis of 
the agreement of 1893, and we will strike from that agree- 
ment, because you have talked a great deal about it since, 
through the papers and elsewhere, the part that you thought 
objectionable, we will strike from that the admission of col- 
laterals. The only thing we understand you object to we 
will strike out. And now they come and say, unfairly, if you 
are amending the constitution, why can't we amend it. They 
are astute, very astute, they have misled many gentlemen 
of our society who are unfamiliar with their real objects. 

And here, speaking of general officers, let me make a 
parenthetical remark ; one of the gentlemen, I do not know 
who, nor do I recognize what state he is from, asked the 
question of the Chair, if it was fair in determining a question 
of policy that the general officers should have the same power 
of vote which is — 

Mr. PuGH : I rise to a point of order. This question is 
upon the amendment of the gentleman — 

Judge Harden : I am saying why I will support the 
amendment, and I have a right to say it, unless I say some- 
thing that is unparliamentary. 

The Chair : The gentleman is in order. 

Mr. PuGH : Is a discussion of the right of general officers 
to vote in order? 

31 



Judge Harden : I hope the gentleman will bear with me 
in patience, I will not trouble him much longer, if I am 
troubling him. The statement has been made here that it 
was unfair, and there was a special protest against the ruling 
of the Chair, that one general officer should carry as much 
power as a whole State. I simply want to say that it seems 
to me that that is just as fair as to have one state having 
twelve members exercising the same power of vote as another 
state with nineteen hundred members — 

Mr. Wood : Two wrongs do not justify a right. 

Judge Harden : I think a right never requires to be justi- 
fied. 

I wanted to say this, in the interest of the harmony I spoke 
of, that the gentlemen who vote upon this matter may do so in 
the real interest of harmony. I believe them sincere, but they 
should be disposed to remember the gentlemen who represent 
a far larger interest than they do, and not only patiently hear 
their views, but carefully consider their clearly expressed 
preferences, in order that they may honestly determine 
whether real harmony and real prosperity will be attained if 
the twelve votes counterbalance the nineteen hundred. The 
twelve votes have that power : would it be wise, and in the 
interests of harmony, to exercise it ? 

Continuing, the resolution says : " We regard, and believe 
that they regard, the actual union of two societies as of 
such paramount importance that the settlement of the details 
of union should be subordinated, as far as consistent with the 
honor and dignity of both societies, to the accomplishment 
of that end." Undoubtedly : but the state of facts shown by 
the correspondence between their and our general officers 
impresses me as indicating that the " details " to be discussed 
are questions of extremely grave importance, involving our 
receding from the only proposition we had made, and chang- 
ing the very name of the Society. It is true it is a detail, but 
an extremely serious detail, that we should open up the whole 
matter and the question of changing and altering the consti- 
tution as preliminary to their consenting even to treat with us. 

Now, it seems to me that if the Society of the Sons of 
the American Revolution had been disposed to act fairly and 
squarely towards us, and in the same good faith that we ap- 

32 



preached them with, they would have met our proposition by a 
counter-proposition. We stated to them upon what terms we 
were willing to unite. They do not state to us upon what 
terms they are willing to unite ; and, therefore, it seems to 
me that the settlement of the details of union should not be 
subordinate, so far as we are concerned. And when gentle- 
men speak of details as " unimportant," and as " secondary," 
though they may involve the change of the fundamental law 
of the society in some of the most serious aspects — I do not 
agree with them. This society, as has been said in a letter 
written by the President-General, has a record, an honorable 
record ; a part of its record is its very name, and it does not 
wish to see the name changed, and the intimation is strong 
from the other gentlemen in their letters to our officers, that 
they are not going to join with the Sons of the Revolution un- 
less the Sons of the Revolution call themselves the Sons of the 
American Revolution, or some other name to be decided 
upon. 

Then comes the rest of these resolutions, and after the first 
resolution, which it is proposed to leave — this motion has 
been made to strike out all the others — it is first provided 
that there shall be a meeting, and that that meeting shall 
provide for the taking of such steps as may be necessary to 
■effect, so far as possible, the actual union of the two societies. 
I think there is a misapprehension on the part of many of the 
gentlemen present ; and our attention has been directed by the 
presiding officer to the fact that the nature of this organiza- 
tion is not understood as clearly and distinctly as it should 
be. Questions have been asked, does the Chair say the Gen- 
eral Society can do this and the General Society can do that ? 
Does it provide for any amendment ? No, it is profoundly 
silent. What are the facts? The Society of Sons of the 
Revolution started in one, or two, or three states. Now, this 
General Society was formed under a written constitution, and 
every state which has come in since has come in under that 
constitution, that contract ; and when such a contract is made 
it cannot be changed except by the consent of every party to 
that contract. What other party to that contract can say to 
the State of Georgia or to the State of New York, you shall 
do this and you shall not do that, or you may do this and 

33 



you may do that ? What authority can the General Society 
ever have for calling together the different State Societies for 
the purpose of carrying that union through? What authority 
has that society to do anything more than to say we, the 
delegates from various states, have agreed that it would be 
advantageous to make such and such changes in the formation 
of our societies, but we have no power to act on the matter, and 
will have to submit it to all the states, and if a single state 
refuses, the compact cannot be changed, even as to the others. 
Because, if the others say, we will leave you, go on and form 
another society, they cannot do that, because they are acting 
in bad faith to the State Societies which came in. I do not 
believe in the society passing a resolution which cannot end 
in anything. For these reasons I support the motion of Mr. 
Delafield to strike out all after the words of the preamble and 
first resolution. 

Mr. PuGH : I think the gentleman from Georgia will give 
credit to the gentlemen north of the Ohio that they are will- 
ing to give him, that we all want harmony. What we are 
trying to do here, we think, in our way, will be for the benefit 
of this cause. The gentleman, in placing his interpretation 
upon the action of the Sons of the American Revolution, 
in the City of Richmond, on the 30th of April last, has hardly 
done justice to their plain spoken words; the interpretation 
of thoee words that have been made by our general officers is 
not a subject for discussion here. They, the Sons of the 
American Revolution, received an invitation from us couched 
in plain language, which was extended when we met on April 
20th, in Savannah, and replied to it manfully and asked for a 
committee of conference. Now, as to what has been the 
result since then we have nothing to do. 

We, who represent these resolutions, wish this meeting to 
appoint a conference committee to meet the request made at 
Richmond, and if possible, to carry into effect the intention 
of the Savannah resolutions, which was to bring about an 
honorable union of the two societies, (and not an absorption 
of one society by the other,) which our general officers have 
thought they could not do under the Savannah resolutions. 
This is the object of it, that is all we have to say about it. 
The Sons of the American Revolution have replied manfully. 

34 



They have stated in their convention that they wanted a 
committee of conference. 

This is the meeting of representatives of the State Societies 
here to-day, and, with the general officers who are here, con- 
stitute this General Assembly. These general officers could 
not exist but for the State Societies. I think that is clear. 
They first met and formed this General Society and elected 
these gentlemen. The State Societies have sent us here with 
authority to bring to your attention these resolutions. There 
is no member of the Ohio Society who wants it to lose its 
identity in this General Society. There is nothing in these 
resolutions that provides for this General Society going out of 
existence, unless you want it to. The resolutions are that 
these conference committees submit reports to an adjourned 
meeting, and if those reports are adopted then a certain pro- 
cedure goes on. You ask, what will become of these other 
societies under the provisions of the new constitution ? Just 
whatever the new constitution provides for. We are not here 
to hurt anybody else's feelings. We do not want to do it. 
We feel that you are just as honest as we are. But since 1893 
this organization has probably increased three times in num- 
bers, and the men who are new members of this organization 
do not care for 1893, I will tell you. They do not care for it, 
so far as to the feelings that grew out of the personal animosi- 
ties. What they do care for is that we stand before the 
country as one united society of descendants, — lineal descent, 
not collateral, — without any doubtful members or anything 
of that kind. And we submit these resolutions to the society 
in the language in which they are expressed. 

The Chair : The question will be upon the amendment 
offered by the gentleman from Connecticut to strike out all 
of the resolutions after the preamble and the first resolution, 
to strike out all of the resolutions offered by the gentleman 
from Ohio following the first resolution, viz., the last four 
resolves. 

The Secretary proceeded to call the roll, with the follow- 
ing result, viz.: 

Ayes : General Vice-President, Second Vice-President, 
General Secretary, Assistant General Secretary, General 
Treasurer ; California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, New 

35 



Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South 
Carolina. 

Noes : Assistant General Treasurer, General Registrar, 
General Historian; Colorado, District of Columbia, Illinois, 
Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North 
Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, West Virginia. 

Mr. Duke, of Virginia : The State of Virginia is divided, 
consequently we cannot vote. 

Mr. Harris : The result of the vote is fourteen votes in 
the affirmative and sixteen in the negative. 

The Chair : The motion of the gentleman from Connect- 
icut, Mr. Delafield, is lost. 

Judge Harden (Georgia) : I will beg the indulgence of 
the society for a moment while I offer a substitute for the 
resolutions as they now stand. 

Mr. CoivLiNS : I think there is some amendment to the 
resolutions which has not been acted upon. I think that 
ought to be done first. 

Mr. Wood (Ohio) : The Judge has the floor if he desires 
it. I move, sir, to amend the third resolution by striking 
out in the third line from the end the words, " and there pro- 
vide for a general assembly of the consolidated societies, in 
accordance with," and also so much of the last two lines as 
follow the words " two joint committees." In other words, 
to strike out " and take whatever steps may be necessary to 
effect, as far as possible, the actual union of the societies," 
and to insert after the third line from the end, " the two 
joint assemblies may then take action upon the reports of 
the two joint committees." The resolution will then read, 
" Resolved, That we, the General Society of Sons of the 
Revolution, hereby appoint an adjourned meeting of this 
General Assembly, to be held at Cincinnati, O., October 12, 
1897, at II A. M., and we respectfully request the National 
Society of Sons of the American Revolution, provided the 
joint committee of conference on basis of union shall have 
arrived meanwhile at an agreement, to hold a General Assem- 
bly of their own in the same city at the same time, in order 
that the two general assemblies may then take action upon 
the reports of the two joint committees." That strikes out 
the provision for the General Assembly of the consolidated 

36 



societies, and strikes out the sentence " to take whatever 
steps are necessary to effect, as far as possible, the actual 
union of the societies." I move to amend the resolution in 
that manner. 

The Chair : The question will be upon the amendment 
offered by the gentleman from Ohio. 

Seconded, put to vote and carried. 

The Chair : There is another peculiarity in these resolu- 
tions, and I think it takes a tone from the General Society, 
which I want to call your attention to. We ought not to be 
put upon the record as stating a fact in resolutions that are 
going to another society entirely foreign to us which would 
be misleading. These resolutions would imply that the 
General Society could authorize the State Societies to do 
anything that they did not want to do. The gentleman, 
upon reflection, will perceive that the General Society is the 
mere creature of the State Societies. It seems to me that it 
is a great deal better to leave out all reference to that. 

Mr. Seymour (Michigan) : I move to strike out the next 
to the last resolution. I don't think it ought to have come 
in this present convention at all. I move that the section 
before the last in this resolution be stricken out. 

Seconded, put to vote and carried. 

Judge Harden : The question, I believe, is now on the 
amendment to the third resolution. In view of the circum- 
stance of this morning's discussion, I repeat that I believe 
the gentlemen who have offered these resolutions have done 
so in good faith, and because they believe it to be their duty 
to the society ; we all agree, have iterated and reiterated that 
we all mean well, but, perhaps, some of us don't know. Now 
whether it be us or the other gentlemen is a matter to be 
determined, but it is quite sure thit when a number of gen- 
tlemen are agreed upon a certain end, but are not agreed 
upon the details, there must be something wrong somewhere. 
Now, as I understand these resolutions, as amended, they 
begin with a whereas, to which I have already expressed ob- 
jection, and when I say " I," I mean those gentlemen who repre- 
sent thirty-five hundred of the five thousand members of the 
Society. The second whereas is open to the same objection. 

The first resolve provides for a committee, to which none 

37 



of us have the slightest objection, (except personally I think a 
discourtesy might be implied, although it was not intended,) 
beyond that it was rather a reflection upon the Chair's ability to 
select this committee, to take its appointment out of his hands, 
and that is the one reason why we all objected to it. Now, this 
resolution provides for a committee of five to confer with a 
committee of five from the other side, as to what these gentle- 
men want us to do, what they will consent to do, what can 
we do to cause them to unite with us, what can we do that 
would make them willing to unite with us. Those whom I 
represent feel that that is a letting down of our dignity. Of 
course, the other gentlemen do not think so, else they would 
vote as we do. We may be wrong and they may be right ; 
but it seems to me that when I extend the hand of fellowship 
to a man, and he refuses to accept that hand until I do some- 
thing else that is indefinite and undeclared, I will not extend 
him my hand any longer. Let them say yes or no, like men, 
and accept or reject. We don't care which — I speak for 
myself alone — but do not let us go after them and say, 
" Please, gentlemen, won't you accept us on some terms, 
won't you come to us on some terms : let us unite." 

As I say, many objects and aims are extremely desirable, 
but sometimes they cost too much, and that is my view of 
this ; therefore, I offer as a substitute — I am afraid merely 
pro forma — but we will have the record, the following reso- 
lutions, viz. : 

WJiereas^ The General Society of the Sons of the Revo- 
lution in general meeting assembled at Savannah, in the 
State of Georgia, on the 20th day of April, 1896, proffered, 
sincerely and fraternally, a standing invitation to the National 
Society of Sons of the American Revolution to unite with it 
in a single General Society, upon certain terms of union and 
provisos in said proffer set forth, 

Afid Whereas^ The preamble and resolutions extending 
such invitation were transmitted to said National Society of 
Sons of the American Revolution, and were considered by it 
at its meeting in Richmond, Virginia, on April 30, 1896, and 
neither accepted nor declined in terms, but declined by impli- 
cation ; 

Resolved^ By the General Society of Sons of the Revolu- 

38 



tion, in Special General Meeting assembled, that it has, under 
the circumstances, no other proposition to offer. 

Resolved Further^ That should any proposition for union, 
stating explicitly upon what terms the National Society of 
Sons of the American Revolution desire such union, be made 
by said society to this society, this society will carefully, 
respectfully, fairly and fraternally consider and act upon the 
same. 

Mr. Wilson (Maryland) : I second those resolutions. 

The Chair : The question is upon the substitute offered 
by the gentleman from Georgia. 

Judge Pennypacker (Pennsylvania) : I am not in accord 
entirely with the language of the substitute of the gentleman 
from Georgia, jl am in entire sympathy with the objects 
which he seeks to accomplish, and I feel that I am called 
upon to express to this meeting what I believe to be the 
thought of the Society in Pennsylvania. 

The Sons of the Revolution were organized in the City of 
New York in 1883, and the Sons of the American Revolution 
were organized in 1889. Now, I am well aware that our 
society looks back to one begun in February, 1876, and that 
the other society looks back to the California Society which 
was organized July 4, 1876, but it is very much like some 
pedigrees I have seen. They begin with Alfred the Great and 
run with entire certainty down to a point, and then they be- 
gin with John Smith and continue with certainty up to an- 
other point, but between them there is a gap, which the bold 
genealogist has to leap over. I think it is so with these 
societies, and that I have stated accurately the beginning of 
them both. 

The Sons of the American Revolution began its career in 
1889 under the leadership of some men who had been mem- 
bers of the Sons of the Revolution, and has so continued. 
They were entitled to go away from their society if they 
so chose. At the outset they made the first mistake, and that 
was in adopting a name which was almost identical with that 
of the society which they left, and the result of which has 
been to mislead many persons who have since connected 
themselves with that organization. That was the preliminary 
mistake. Then came the efforts to unite the two societies ; 

39 



because it was generally recognized, as it is now by all of 
us here, that it is desirable that upon some correct basis of 
union there should be a combination. Committees were 
formed, as it is proposed to-day to do, and they met together, 
they conferred and they consulted, and they reached a definite 
result which ought to have been satisfactory to both societies. 
How that result failed, and why it was we all know. It was 
because this organization insisted as a preliminary upon the 
examination of the qualifications, and the other organization, 
refused to have that preliminary examination made. That 
was the second mistake, because when the societies were to be 
united they were to be made up of men who came within the 
qualifications which had been determined upon. 

Now, as to the next step. I think the position of our 
officers, in their efforts to carry out the instructions which 
they received in Savannah, is entirely correct. At the meet- 
ing of this society one year ago, in 1896, we made a formal 
proffer to the Sons of the American Revolution to carry 
out the terms of union of the societies upon the basis which 
had been adopted. We went out of our way to present it 
to them. We put it in definite language, so that there 
could be no misunderstanding. Now, what was required 
of them, what ought they as gentlemen to have done? 
To have met our proposition. To have answered it. It 
was the only thing to do. Horse jockeys, in the sale of 
a horse, may offer the animal at a sum, and the other side, 
instead of answering the question, may make another prop- 
osition, but, dealing as we are, with men of high stand- 
ing, and dealing upon a high plane, our self-respect, our 
dignity, requires that we should insist upon having our 
proposition answered before we reply to the suggestions 
made by them. 

That is our feeling about it in the State of Pennsyl- 
vania. We are willing for this union, but we want it clearly 
understood we are not anxious. We are satisfied with our 
efforts. We are content with our strength. W^e are more 
than pleased with the action of our general officers, and 
nothing indicates better the courtesy, the accuracy and the 
exactness of the language which was presented upon our side 
of the question than the correspondence ; and being so satis- 

40 



fied we have no wish to rush into a union of this characteio. 
If we go we will go openly, with our heads erect, and above 
board. Marriage is a good thing. It is an institution to be 
commended ; but I have never yet known a young girl who 
was so eager to be married that she was ready to desert her 
home and abandon her father and mother and run away in 
the night with some adventurer, who did not find it either lead 
to one of two things, her return home humiliated to be taken 
care of, or else her final destruction. If Pennsylvania comes 
into this union she must come with the proprieties preserved. 
She will not sacrifice her self-respect. I say, therefore, if Penn- 
sylvania is to come that is the only way in which she is willing 
to come. She is content and happy as she is now, and there 
she proposes to remain unless a union can be brought about 
without the sacrifice of self respect. 

Mr. Parris (District of Columbia) : I want to say one 
word ; that is this. I am in favor of marriage, but I am not 
in favor of long courtships. This courtship has already lasted 
several years, and we have come here to see if we cannot name 
the wedding day, and not to see if we cannot divorce the 
parties. 

I trust very much, as we have some appointments a little 
later on, that from this time on we shall have short speeches,, 
as far as those in favor of the union are concerned, under- 
such terms as have been suggested, and that the gentlemen 
who oppose it will undertake to vote it down, and that no 
attempt to strike out a paragraph here and a paragraph there 
to render it meaningless will be made. 

The Chair : The question is upon the substitute. 

Mr. Stevens (New Jersey) proceeded to offer resolutions 
from the New Jersey Society Sons of the Revolution, but on 
the suggestion that he was out of order decided to offer reso- 
lutions later. 

At the request of Mr. Wood the Secretary read resolu- 
tions offered by Judge Harden. 

Mr. Wood : I want to say that if it be the desire of this 
meeting to forever kill and murder union pass this resolution. 
What can the Sons of the American Revolution do, with such 
a slap in the face as this, toward union ? 

Judge Harden : I claim the right to say in reply to that, 

41 



that those who desire union at the cost of self-respect will 
vote against it. 

Judge Pennypacker : The animus of the whole thing 
is apparent from the letter which this man, whose name is 
Murphy, writes in a very undignified way to our society. 
The objection is raised to the name of the society, " Sons of 
the Revolution." That was one of the points which, in 1893, 
we succeeded in gaining. Now then, after it had been gained, 
after the result was reached, why don't they like men accept it ? 

The Secretary here proceeded with the roll call, which 
resulted as follows, viz. : 

Ayes : General Vice-President, Second Vice-President, 
General Secretary, Assistant General Secretary, General 
Treasurer, California, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, South 
Carolina, Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania — 13. 

Noes: Assistant General Treasurer, General Registrar, 
General Historian, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Col- 
umbia, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, 
Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode 
Island, Texas and West Virginia — 18. 

The Chair : The Secretary announces that there are 
thirteen votes in the afiSrmative and eighteen in the nega- 
tive. The motion is lost. 

The question is now upon the original resolution offered 
by the gentleman from Ohio. 

Mr. Wood : I do not wish to press it until the gentleman 
from New Jersey has an opportunity to present his resolu- 
tions, as he deferred presenting them at my suggestion. 

Mr. Stevens : These resolutions were passed at the an- 
nual meeting of the New Jersey Society to show exactly how 
they stood upon this question, — that this congress had not 
the right to determine this without the action of every soli- 
tary state and the votes of the delegates and their own mem- 
bers. The constitution at present not only gives the State 
societies the right to determine the qualification of their 
members, but the right to expel anybody, to expel any per- 
son, that they like, and there is no appeal from that expul- 
sion to the General Society. No man who is expelled can 
appeal to the General Society for relief. The State Societies 
are supreme. We don't want to limit that right ; we want it 

42 



distinctly understood that no consolidation can be made un- 
less every State Society agrees to the same. 

Whereas^ The constitution of the General Society of the 
Sons of the Revolution makes no provision for a change in 
the constitution ; and 

Wliereas^ The constitution expressly prescribes that the 
State Societies shall be the sole judges of the qualifications 
and elections of their members ; 

Resolved^ That it is the sense of the New Jersey State So- 
ciety that no change can be made in the constitution with- 
out the unanimous consent of every State Society ; 

Resolved^ That it is the sense of the New Jersey Society 
that no change should be made in said constitution that will 
interfere in any manner with the right of the State Societies 
in determining the membership of their respective bodies. 

Mr. Wood : I desire simply to say that all can be 
brought up at the final meeting that does not come up now, 
Mr. Chairman ; I want everyone to understand the status of 
things. These resolutions, if passed, provide simply for the 
appointment of two committees : one on revision of papers, 
another to report, if possible, a basis of union of the two So- 
cieties. That does not make us unite if the votes are not 
there, and consequently if you vote for these resolutions with- 
out that subsequent ratification you cannot unite. I may not 
approve, we may not approve, the report of the joint com- 
mittee, and the whole thing falls to the ground. It is simply 
an earnest, honest effort to see if we can have proposed for us 
any basis of union upon which we can unite. We may fail 
altogether, but do not let it be said that we failed because we 
were unwilling to make an honest effort. 

Mr. Sayres (Pennsylvania) asked if the Sons of the Revo- 
lution had ever been requested by the Sons of the American 
Revolution to join with them. 

The Chair replied there was no record of such a request. 

Judge Harden said, " If we have not any request from 
them, why should we go to them with another offer?" 

Mr. Wood : I don't care to bring up the question of the 
responsibility of the failure of the negotiations. I want to say 
here that the general officers, I believe, acted honestly, I 
think they probably acted with great caution, and probably 

43 



acted upon the right assumption that they could not exceed 
the authority given to them by the meeting at Savannah. 
Now, that authority was not sufficient to make union. We 
want sufficient authority to meet the Sons of the American 
Revolution if they desire to meet with us. 

Mr. PuGH : In the body of the resolution provision is 
made for a committee of conference, this committee to meet 
a like committee of the Sons of the American Revolution, 
and to report, that is all there is to it. 

Mr. Wood, in response to Mr. Woodruff (New York), as 
to what answer Mr. Wood had made to Mr. Jones (Pennsyl- 
vania) as to standard or criterion of eligibility, said, " I wish 
to say that the point we have insisted upon was that all 
papers should show beyond all question a lineal descent from 
a revolutionary sire." 

The Chair : It is not what the qualification shall be, but 
how are they to do it, how are they to go about it ? 

Mr. Woodruff : The fact is the two societies are not in 
accord on the qualification clause. As I understand, we have 
certain definite rules. We will admit persons, lineal descend- 
ants of revolutionary soldiers. The Sons of the American 
Revolution, unless that has been changed, recognize patriots. 
Now, we do not admit members for that reason. Another 
thing, we require positive proof of eligibility, the Sons of the 
American Revolution are satisfied with family traditions. 
Now, I ask of this committee of revision what is to be the 
standard or criterion of eligibility, is it to be the clause of the 
constitution of the Sons of the American Revolution or the 
clause of the constitution of the Sons of the Revolution ? We 
do not want to appoint a committee or suggest a committee 
who will find when they are appointed that they have no stand- 
ard to go by. We will assume every Son of the American 
Revolution is eligible to that society, and we must insist that 
every Son of the Revolution is eligible to our society, but it 
does not follow that all of the Sons of the American Revo- 
lution are eligible to our society. How then is this com- 
mittee of revision to pass upon the credentials of the various 
members? 

Mr. Abbott : The answer is contained in the resolution. 
This committee of revision is to make its report in accord- 

44 



ance with the resolutions passed at Savannah and Richmond 
in April, 1896. Both of those provide the same standard, 
which was the original standard of the Sons. 

The Chair : Where is the authority of the General So- 
ciety to interfere at all about the qualification of members ? 
Where have you got any power? How can you pass any 
resolution authorizing any committee ? How can you pass 
any resolution here to-day which will affect either the Penn- 
sylvania or Ohio Society ? 

Mr. Wood : First answering the Chair, we want to say 
that we are willing to proceed toward union upon any basis, 
that is, if there is presented to us such claims on the part of 
the Sons of the American Revolution as will justify us in go- 
ing any further. If their membership is not such as we 
would accept, as would be accepted by the General Registrar 
of this society, we do not want them ; that I lay down as a 
cardinal principle. We do not decide by this committee on 
revision whether these people shall belong or not, we simply 
say they shall revise the papers and report to the general 
m.eeting of the society to see what they will do with it. We 
must do that before we go any further. Are we afraid to 
submit our papers ? If they do not want to submit them, we 
do not want them. Now, this was one of the resolutions 
passed in Richmond last year, viz.: 

Mr. Wood read resolutions beginning : " Whereas, the 
National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution is 
heartily, etc.," and ending "indubitable proof of lineal 
descent." 

Mr. Jones (Pennsylvania) : In the resolution adopted at 
Savannah, by which this committee on credentials was 
authorized, it is provided that the test shall be the require- 
ments of Article III of the constitution agreed upon at New 
York, February 16, 1893, so that if this committee is now in- 
structed to go ahead and do its work, the Sons of the Ameri- 
can Revolution will have to submit to the test in the consti- 
tution of 1893. If that is the understanding. 

Mr. Wood : I am not willing to accept into this society or 
in any united society, any member whose papers will not be 
approved by the Registrar General of the Sons of the Revolu- 
tion. 

45 



The Chair : The gentleman is aware that was rejected by 
the Sons of the American Revolution, it is simply tendering 
it to them again. 

The question is upon the resolution as amended. 

The Secretary proceeded to call the roll with the follow- 
ing result, viz.: 

Ayes : Assistant General Treasurer, General Registrar, 
General Historian, Colorado, District of Columbia, Illinois, 
Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North 
Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, West Virginia. 

Noes : General Vice-President, Second Vice-President, 
General Secretary, Assistant General Secretary, General 
Treasurer, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, New 
Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vir- 
ginia. 

Mr. Woodruff : I move that the vote be announced and 
recorded " New Hampshire not voting." 

The Chair : Of course, it will be so recorded. 

The Secretary : New Hampshire not voting, there are 
sixteen ayes and fourteen noes. 

The Chair: The resolution offered by the gentleman 
from Ohio has been adopted. 

Judge Harden : I desire to offer a vote of thanks to the 
Pennsylvania Society for their generous hospitality, past^ 
present and future. 

Seconded, put to vote and carried unanimously. 

Mr. Wood : I move that the Society return a vote of 
thanks to the First General Vice-President for the impartial, 
courteous and able manner in which he has presided over our 
deliberations. 

Seconded, put to vote by Mr. Wood and carried unani- 
mously. 

The Chair : I thank you very much for the resolution. 
I have attempted only to do what I conceived to be my duty 
as the presiding officer of this society. It may have been 
probably unwise, it might have been thought somewhat im- 
proper for me to interject anything into the debate, but I 
have gone through all the struggles in this matter of so-called 
union, and I could not refrain from saying what I did in order 
to keep this society, if possible, on what I conceived to be the 

46 



right side of the matter. I did not want this society to go 
and make a proposition to the Sons of the American Revolu- 
tion which they could not carry out under the constitution. 
If it were not for that I should have said nothing. I am op- 
posed, I have always been opposed, to the union. I voted 
against the constitution of 1893. Conscientiously I did it, 
because I was a member of the Sons of the Revolution, and I 
believed that the door could be thrown open wide enough for 
every man entitled to come in, and I have no excuse to offer 
for stating it to you here now ; but I thank you very kindly 
for your vote. 

Mr. CadlE (Missouri) called the attention of the society 
to the method of raising the revenue of the General Society 
by a per capita tax, insisted that the present method was un- 
just and inequitable, and asked the Secretary to read the re- 
solutions on that subject passed at Savannah. 

Mr. Collins made the point that the matter was out of 
order, having been already voted upon. 

Mr. Duke, Judge Harden and Mr. Cable spoke on the 
subject. 

On motion of Mr. Haywood of North Carolina, duly 
seconded, put to vote and carried, the matter was laid on the 
table. 

Motion made, seconded, put to vote and unanimously car- 
ried that a vote of thanks be tendered to the Pennsylvania 
Historical Society for the use of their rooms. 

Mr. Sayres (Pennsylvania) : I beg to announce that lunch 
is now ready at the Stratford. 

Motion to adjourn, seconded, put to vote and carried. 

47 



LIST OF OFFICERS 

OF THE 

GENERAL AND STATE SOCIETIES, 

APRIL 19TH, 1897. 



OFFICERS 

OF THE 

GENEKAL SOCIETY. 



General President. 

HON. JOHN LEE CARROLL, EUicott City, Maryland,. 
Of the Maryland Society. 

General Vice-President. 

GARRET DORSET WALL VROOM, Trenton, New Jersey^ 
Of the New Jersey Society. 

Second General Vice-President. 

JOHN SCREVEN, Savannah, Georgia, 
Of the Georgia Society. 

General Secretary. 

JAMES MORTIMER MONTGOMERY, No. 146 Broadway (Room 409), 

New York, 
Of the New York Society. 

Assistant General Secretary. 

WILLIAM HALL HARRIS, No. 216 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, Maryland, 
Of the Maryland Society. 

General Treasurer. 

RICHARD McCALL CADWALADER, 133 S. 12th Street, Philadelphia, 

Pennsylvania, 
Of the Pennsylvania Society. 

General Assistant Treasurer. 

HENRY CADLE, Bethany, Missouri, 
Of the Missouri Society. 

General Chaplain. 

RIGHT REVEREND HENRY BENJAMIN WHIPPLE, D.D., L.L.D., 

Bishop of Minnesota, Faribault, Minnesota, 
Of the Minnesota Society. 

General Registrar. 

FRANCIS ELLINGWOOD ABBOT, Cambridge, Massachusetts,. 

Of the Massachusetts Society. 

General Historian. 

GAILLARD HUNT, Department of State, Washington, District of Columbia, 

Of the District of Columbia Society.. 

51 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF NEW YORK. 

Institcted - February 22, 1876. 

Reorganized - Dkckmbkr 4, 1883. 

Imcorporated under thk Laws of the State of New York - May 3, 1884. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

FREDERICK SAMUEL TALLMADGE, 97 Cedar Street, New York City. 

Vice-President. 
JAMES WILLIAM BEEKMAN, 47 Cedar Street, New York City. 

Secretary. 
CHARLES ISHAM, 146 Broadway, New York City. 

Treasurer. 
ARTHUR MELVIN HATCH, 96 Broadway, New York City. 



BoAUD OP Managers. 

JOHN HONE, 

CHARLES HORNBLOWER WOODRUFF, 

CHESTER GRISWOLD, 

FREDERICK CLARKSON, 

JOHN TAYLOR TERRY, Jk., 

WILLIAM GASTON HAMILTON, 

THOMAS E. V. SMITH, 

ROBERT OLYPHANT, 

FELLOWES DAVIS, 

HENRY DENISON BABCOCK. 



Begistrar. Historian. 

HENRY PHELPS JOHNSTON, TALBOT OLYPHANT, 

17 Lexington Ave., New York City. 21 Cortlandt St,, New York City. 

53 



Chaplain. 
REV. BROCKHOLST MORGAN, 

38 Bleecker St., New York City. 



Delegates to the General Society. 
CHARLES STEDMAN BULL, M. D , 
CHARLTON T. LEWIS, 
WILLIAM W. HOPPIN, 
GENERAL A. C. BARNES, 
SHEPARD KNAPP. 

Alternates. 

JOHN V. S. L. PRUYN, 
EDMUND PENDLETON, 
WILLIAM B. HORNBLOWER, 
CLARENCE WINTHROP BOWEN, 
GEORGE WILLIAM McLANAHAN. 



Total Membership, 1,897 

53 



PENNSYLVANIA SOCIETY 

OF 

SONS OF THE REVOLUTION. 

Instituted April 3, 1888. 
Incorporated under the Laws op the State of Pennsylvania, September 29, 1890. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

WILLIAM WAYNE, Paoli, Pa. 

First Vice-President. 

RICHARD McCALL CADWALADER, 

Franklin Building, 133 South 12th Street, Philadelphia. 

Second Vice-President. 

WILLIAM HENRY EGLE, M. D., Harrisburg, Pa. 

Secretary. 

ETHAN ALLEN WEAVER, Lock Box 713, Philadelphia. 

Residence, 3315 Spencer Terrace, West Philadelphia. 

Treasurer. 

CHARLES HENRY JONES, 505 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia. 

Registrar. Historian. 

Capt. HENRY HOBART BELLAS, U. S. A., JOSIAH GRANVILLE LEACH, 

Germantown, Pa. 733 Walnut Street, Philadelphia. 

Chuplain. 

Rev. GEORGE WOOLSEY HODGE, 334 South 13th Street, Philadelphia. 



Board of Managers. 
JAMES EDWARD CARPENTER, Chairman. 

WILLIAM SPOHN BAKER, , 

FRANCIS VON ALBADE CABEEN, 
ISAAC CRAIG, 

Rev. HORACE EDWIN HAYDEN, 
Hon. SAMUEL WHITAKER PENNYPACKER, LL.D., 
WILLIAM MACPHERSON HORNOR, 
JOHN WOOLF JORDAN, 
THOMAS HEWSON BRADFORD, M. D. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

JAMES EDWARD CARPENTER, 

CHARLES HENRY JONES, 

Capt. RICHARD STRADER COLLUM, U. S. M. C, 

Hon. SAMUEL WHITAKER PENNYPACKER, LL. D. 

EDWARD STALKER SAYRES. 



i 



Alternates. 
JOSIAH GRANVILLE LEACH, ALEXANDER KRUMBHAAR, 

JOSEPH TROWBRIDGE BAILEY, ALEXiVNDER WILLIAMS BIDDLE, M. D.,;! 

JOHN HILL BRINTON, Jr. \ 



Total Membership, 1,038 

54 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

Instituted March 11, 1889. 
Incorporated under the Laws of the Unitkd States, December, 1889. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

Rear Admiral JOHN GRIMES WALKER, 

Metropolitan Club, Washington. 

Vice-President. 

WILLIAM VAN ZANT COX, Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 

Seci'etary. 
HENRY GREENWAY KEMP, 615-617 14th Street, Washington. 

l^reamrer. 

BALSH B. WILSON, 2909 Q Street, Washington. 

Registrar. 

CHARLES HARROD CAMPBELL, Department of State, Washington. 

Histai'ian. 

GAILLARD HUNT, Department of State, Washington. 

Chaplain. 

Rev. RANDOLPH HARRISON McKIM, D. D., 1631 K Street, Washington. 



Board of Managers. 
GAILLARD HUNT, 

CHARLES FREDERICK TIFFANY BEALE, 
MARK B. HATCH, 
FRANCIS S. NASH, 
THOMAS BLAGDEN, 
FRANCIS PRESTON BLAIR SANDS, 
CAZENOVE G. LEE, 
GREEN CLAY GOODLOE. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

CHARLES FREDERICK TIFFANY BEALE, 
ALBION KEITH PARRIS, 
HENRY GREENWAY KEMP, 
WILLIAM B. GURLEY, 
A. HOWARD CLARKE. 

Alternates. 
Admiral JAMES A. GREER, 
Major GREEN CLAY GOODLOE, 
T. CUTHBERT PRESCOTT, 
W. H. CLAY, 
JAMES H. HA.YDEN. 



Total Membership, - 242 

55 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF IOWA. 

Instituted April 19, 1890. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

Right Rev. WILLIAM STEVENS PERRY, D. D. (Omn.), LL. D., D. C. L., 

Bishop op Iowa. 

Vice-President. 

Hon. SAMUEL FRANCIS SMITH, Davenport. 

Secretary. 

Yen. SAMUEL ROOSEVELT JOHNSON HOYT, S. T. D., 

Archdeacon of Davenport, Davenport. 

Treasurer. 

ESEK STEERE BALLORD, Davenport. 

Chaplain. 

Rev. JOHN BARNETT DONALDSON, D. D., Davenport. 

Iiegi»trar. 

HENRY HERVEY HILLS, Davenport. 

Historiari. 

JOSIAH PROCTOR WALTON, Muscatine. 



Board of Managers. 

Hon. SAMUEL FRANCIS SMITH, Chairman, 

Right Rev. WILLIAM STEVENS PERRY, 

Ven. SAMUEL ROOSEVELT JOHNSON HOYT, 

ESEK STEERE BALLORD, 

Rev. JOHN BARNETT DONALDSON, D. D., 

HENRY HERVEY HILLS, 

JOSIAH PROCTOR WALTON, 

GEORGE ARTHUR GOODELL, 

WILLIAM PERRY BRADY, 

LAUREN CHASE EASTMAN, 

SILAS WRIGHT GARDINER, 

WILLIAM Le ROY ROACH. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

Rt. Rev. WILLIAM STEVENS PERRY, 
Hon. GEORGE MARTIN CURTIS, 
JUDSON KEITH DEMING, 
WILLIAM PERRY BRADY, 
GEORGE ARTHUR GOODELL. 

Alternates. 

HENRY CADLE, 
THEODORE WELLS BARHYDT, 
LAUREN CHASE EASTMAN, 
Col. JAMES RALPH NUTTING. 
CICERO MEAD HOBBY, M. D. 



Total Membership, I35 

56 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY. 

Instituted January 6, 1891. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

S. MEREDITH DICKINSON, Trenton. 

Vice-President. 

CLEMENT HALL SINNICKSON, Salem. 

Secretary. 

JOHN ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, Trenton. 

Treasurer. 

FRANK OBADIAH BRIGGS, Trenton. 

Bsgistj'ar. 

FOSTER CONARROE GRIFFITH, Trenton. 

Historian. 

THOMAS J. YORKE, Salem. 

Citaplain. 

Rev. CHARLES MARTER PERKINS, Salem. 



Board op Managers. 

GARRET DORSET WALL VROOM, 
WILLIAM S. DAYTON, 
RICHARD FOWLER STEVENS, 
SCHUYLER COLFAX WOODHULL, 
GILBERT COLLINS, 
LEROY H. ANDERSON, 
MALCOLM MACDONALD, 
A. Q. GARRETSON, 
WILLIAM ELMER, M. D. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

RICHARD FOWLER STEVENS, GILBERT COLLINS, 

S. MEREDITH DICKINSON, FRANK OBADIAH BRIGGS, 

THOMAS J. YORKE, Jr. 

Alternates. 
MALCOLM MACDONALD, 
JOHN ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, 
HUGH HENDERSON HAMILL, 
SCHUYLER COLFAX WOODHULL, 
FOSTER CONARROE GRIFFITH. 



Total Membership, 119 

57 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF GEORGIA. 

Instituted May 22, 1891. 
Incorporated March 'J9, 1894. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

Colonel JOHN SCREVEN, Savannah. 

First Vice-President. 

Hon. WILLIAM DEARING HARDEN, Savannah. 

Second Vice-President. 

CoL. JOHN MILLEDGE, Atlanta. 

Secretary. 

WILLIAM HARDEN, 226 President Street, W. Savannah. 

Assistant Secretary. 

JAMES BOLTON WEST, Savannah. 

Treasurer. 

WARING RUSSELL, Savannah. 

Registrar. 

EDWARD STILES ELLIOTT, Savannah. 

Ghafkiin. 
Rev. CHARLES H. STRONG, Savannah. 

Historian. 

Hon. ROBERT FALLIGANT, Savannah. 

Surgeon. 

T. B. CHISHOLM, M. D., Savannah. 

Marshal. 

WILLIAM C. WORKMAN, Savannah. 



BoAKD OF Managers. 
GEORGE LYMAN APPLETON, W. R. LEAKEN, 

H. V. WASHINGTON, W. J, DeRENNE, 

FRANCIS F. JONES, J. F. MINIS, 

G. H. STONE, M. D., POPE BARROW, 

ARMINIUS OEMLER. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

Hon. WILLIAM DEARING HARDEN, WILLIAM HARDEN, 

Col. W. W. GORDON, Hon. F, G. du BIGNON, 

Col. JOHN SCREVEN. 

Alternates. 

THOMAS PINCKNEY HUGER, F. S. LATHROP, 

Col. JOHN M. KELL, HUGH V. WASHINGTON (Macon), 

GEORGE W. OWENS. 



Total Membership, 142 

58 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. 

Organized in Faneuil Hall, October 1, 1891. 
Incorporated under the Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, October 9, 1891 



OFFICERS. 

President. 
CLEMENT KELSEY FAY, Brookline, Mass. 

Vice-President. 
GEORGE SILSBEE HALE. 

Secretary. 
HENRY DEXTER WARREN, Hotel Berkeley, Boston. 

Treasurer. 
ANDREW ROBESON. 

Registrar. 
JAMES ATKINS NOYES. 

Historian.. 
FRANCIS ELLINGWOOD ABBOT, Ph.D., Cambridge, Mass. 

CTiaiilain. 
Revekend LEONARD KIP STORRS, D. D., Brookline, Mass. 



BoAKD OP Managers. 

FRANK HARRISON BRIGGS, GEORGE HATCH QUINCY, 

WALTER OILMAN PAGE, FRANK MERRIAM, 

WILLIAM CURTIS CAPELLE, EDWARD TOBEY BARKER, 

FREDERICK BANKER CARPENTER, HOWARD EATON HAYDEN, 
FRANCIS APTHORP FOSTER. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

FRANCIS ELLINGWOOD ABBOT, 
FRANCIS RAWLINGS SPALDING, 
HENRY DEXTER WARREN, 
PHILIP READE, U. S. A., 
FRANK HARRISON BRIGGS. 

Alternates. 
Hon. ELIJAH ADAMS MORSE, 
Hon. WILLIAM FRANKLIN DRAPER, 
Rev. EDWARD EVERETT HALE, D. D., LL. D., 
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN STEVENS, 
Hon. CHARLES HERBERT ALLEN. 



Total Membership, 370 

59 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF COLORADO. 

Instituted February 22, 1892. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

RALPH VOORHEES. 

Vice-President. 

SHADRACH KEMP HOOPER. 

Secretary. 

PERSIFOR MARSDEN COOKE, M. D., 1290 Race Street, Denver. 

Treasurer. 

WILLIAM DAVID TODD, Box 440, Denver. 

Registrar. 

REGINALD HEBER SMITH, 433 Equitable Building, Denver. 

Chaplain. 

Rev. CHARLES WOODBURY WILLIAMS. 



Board of Managers. 

THE OFFICERS, ex officio, 
ROBERT BAILEY, 
LUTHER HALSEY WYGANT, .Jr., 
GEORGE GRAY SPEER, 
JOHN CROMWELL BUTLER, 
HENRY MYRON BLACKMER, 
JOHN LLOYD McNEIL, 
WALTER CHEESEMAN MEAD, 
NATHANIEL PETER HILL, 
ASHBEL KING SHEPARD. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

JOHN CROMWELL BUTLER, 
JOHN FRANKLIN SPALDING, 
THOMAS HENRY EDSALL, 
JAMES HENRY BROWN, 
EDWARD MARSDEN COOKE. 



Alternates. 

JAMES SIDNEY BROWN, 
WILLIAi\I ELLERY SWEET, 
HENRY FRANCIS CURRIER, 
FRANCIS WHEELER TUPPEK, 
JOHN MILLS MAXWELL. 



Total Membership, 90 

60 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF MARYLAND 

Organized April 11, 1893. 
Incorporated under thr Laws of the State of Maryland, April 13, 1892. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

Hon. .JOHN LEE CARROLL, Ellicott City. 

Vice-President. 

McHENRY HOWARD, Central Savings Bank Building, Baltimore. 

Secretary. 
JOHN LEYPOLD GRIFFITH LEE, B. & O. Building, Baltimore. 

Treasurer. 
WILLIAM BOWLY WILSON, 216 E. Baltimore Street, Baltimore. 

Registrar. 
HENRY OLIVER THOMPSON, 216 St. Paul Street, Baltimore. 

Historian. 

CLAYTON COLMAN HALL, 10 South Street, Baltimore. 

Chaplain. 

Rev. WILLIAM MEADE DAME, 1409 Bolton Street, Baltimore. 



Board of Managers. 
WILMOT JOHNSON, PATRICK MACAULAY BRICKHEAD, 

OGDEN ARTHUR KIRKLAND, THOMAS PUGH McCORMICK, 
ROBERT RIDDLE BROWN, BARTLETT SHIPP JOHNSTON, 
ROBERT CLINTON COLE. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

WILLIAM BOWLY WILSON, JAMES WILSON PATTERSON, 

THOMAS WILLIAM HALL, HENRY OLIVER THOMPSON, 

JOHN APPLETON WILSON. 

Alternates. 
JULIAN HENRY LEE, YATES PENNINGTON, 

WILLIAM SHEPPARD BRYAN, Jr., JOHN HELMSLEY JOHNSON, 
HORATIO GATES ARMSTRONG. 



Total Membership, - . - - _ _ _ 126 

61 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF MINNESOTA. 

Instituted April 17, 1893. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

RUKARD HURD, St. Paul. 

Vice-President. 

Right Reverend M. N. GILBERT. 

Secretary. 

JOHN TOWNSEND, 137 Endicott Building, St. Paul. 

Treasurer. 

JOSEPH E. McWILLIAMS. 

Begistrar. 

Major CHARLES H. WHIPPLE, U. S. A. 

Chaplain. 

Reverend EDWARD P. INGERSOLL, D. D., St. Paul. 



Board of Managers. 

CHARLES P. NOYES, 

GEORGE C. SQUIRES, 

NATHANIEL ELWELL, 

Reverend JOHN PAUL EGBERT, D. D., 

THADDEUS C. FIELD, 

TRACY LYON. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

RUKARD HURD, 
GEORGE C. SQUIRES, 
WILLIAM B. DEAN. 



Total Membership, 9^ 

62 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF OHIO. 

Incorporated May 2, 1893. Organized May 9, 1893. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

ACHILLES HENRY PUGH, Cincinnati. 

First Vice-President. 

Hon. ASA SMITH BUSHNELL, Columbus. 

Second Vice-President. 

EPHRAIM MORGAN WOOD, Dayton. 

Third Vice-President. 

CORNELIUS CADLE, Cincinnati. 

Fourth Vice-President. 

OSCAR THADDEUS MARTIN, Springfield. 

Secretary. 

JOHN WARD BAILEY, 323 Lock Street, Cincinnati. 

Assistant Secretary. 

ARCHIBALD IRWIN CARSON, M. D., Cincinnati. 

Treasurer. 

CHARLES DA VIES JONES, Cincinnati, 

Registrar. 

JOHN MARSHALL NEWTON, Cincinnati. 

Historian. 

THOMAS HERBERT NORTON, Ph. D., Sc. D., Cincinnati. 

Chaplain. 

HENRY MELVILLE CURTIS, D. D., Cincinnati. 



Board of Managers. 
GEORGE ELTWEED POMEROY, THOMAS DANIEL RHODES, 

PITTS HARRISON BURT, JOHN HENRY PATTERSON, 

WILLIAM WALLACE SEELY, M. D., ETHAN OSBORN HURD, 
HARRY LANGDON LAWS, WILLIAM AUGUSTUS GOODMAN, Jr., 

WILLIAM HOWARD DOANE. 



Delegates to the General Society. 
FRANK JOHNSTON JONES, ACHILLES HENRY PUGH, 

RALPH PETERS, SAMUEL MORSE FELTON, 

JEPTHA GARRARD, SAMUEL FURMAN HUNT, 

STEPHEN JOHNSTON PATTERSON, JAMES YERNER GUTHRIE. 

Alternates. 
EPHRAIM MORGAN WOOD, Dr. NATH'L PENDLETON DANDRIDGE, 

MICHAEL MEYERS SHOEMAKER, Dr. JOSEPH EDWARD BOYLAN, 
OSCAR THADDEUS MARTIN, Dr. HENRY CIPPERLY DIMOND, 

BIRCHARD AUSTIN HAYES, FRANK LANGDON PERIN. 



Total Membership, 246 

68 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF CALIFORNIA. 

Instituted May 8, 1893. Incorporated May 15, 1893. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 
HOLDRIDGE OZRO COLLINS, Los Angeles. 

Vice-President. 
SPENCER ROANE THORPE, Los Angeles. 

Secretary. 
ARTHUR BURNETT BENTON, 114 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles. 

Treasurer. 
BRADNER WELLS LEE, Los Angeles. 

Historian. 
CHARLES PUTNAM FENNER, Los Angeles. 

Registrcor. 
EDWARD THOMAS HARDEN, Los Angeles. 

MaTshal. 
FRANK CLARK PRESCOTT, Redlands. 

Chaplain. 
Rev. JOHN GRAY, Los Angeles. 



Board of Managers. 

HOLDRIDGE OZRO COLLINS, ARTHUR BURNETT BENTON, 

SPENCER ROANE THORPE, BRADNER WELLS LEE, 

EDWARD THOMAS HARDEN. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

WILLIAM FURMAN BURBANK, 

JAMES MORTIMER MONTGOMERY, 

CHARLES WILLIAM ROGER, 

Capt. ALFRED CLARENCE SHARPE, U. S. A., 

HENRY HARBINGER SINCLAIR. 

Alternates. 
GEORGE ALFRED CUTTER, M. D., 
JAMES LOCHRY PAUL, 
HENRY EDGERLY PRATT, 
Major EDWIN BRYON ATWOOD, U. S. A., 
JOSIAH EVANS COWLES, M. D. 



Total Membership, 64 

64 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 



STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 

Instituted May 24, 1893. 
Incorporated undkr the Laws of the State of Connecticut, September 7, 1893. 



OFFICERS. 

Presidc7it. 

Hon. morgan GARDNER BULKELEY, Hartford. 

Vice-President. 

Hon. DANIEL NASH MORGAN, Treasurer of the United States. 

Secretary. 

Rev. HENRY N. WAYNE, New Britain. 

Assistant Secreta'-y. 

ABRAM BALDWIN STURGES. M. D., Southport. 

Treasurer. 

Colonel HENRY WALTON WESSELS, C. N, G., Litchfield. 

Registrar. 

WILLIAM F. WATERBURY, Stamford. 

Chaplain. 

Rev. N. ELLSWORTH CORNWALL, Stratford. 



Board of Managers. 

ROBERT CLARK MORRIS, D. C. L., OLIVER TAYXOR SHERWOOD, 
DAVID HENRY GOULD, WILLIAM F. WATERBURY, 

LEIGH RICHMOND HOYT, AUGUSTUS FLOYD DELAFIELD, 

TIMOTHY JONES, FREDERICK J. HUNTINGTON, 

FRANK C. DOWD. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

Hon. morgan GARDNER BULKELEY, 
AUGUSTUS FLOYD DELAFIELD, 
SATTERLEE SWARTWOUT. 
HENRY LINCOLN ROWLAND, 
Col. henry WALTON WESSELS. 

Alternates. 
Rev. N. ELLSWORTH CORNWALL, 
Gen. WILLIAM HENRY BULKELEY, 
ROBERT PEEL WAKEMAN, 
TIMOTHY JONES, 
FREDERICK J. HUNTINGTON. 



Total Membership, ---92 

65 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE 

Organized June 19, 1893. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

Reverend HENRY EMERSON HOVEY, Portsmouth. 

Vice-President. 

ALEXANDER HAMILTON CAMPBELL, Concord. 

Secretary. 

THOMAS E. O. MARVIN, Portsmouth. 

TVea.snrer. 

STEPHEN DECATUR, Portsmouth. 

Registrar. 

HARRY B. CILLEY, IManchester. 

Historian. 

Colonel JAMES FORNEY, U. S. M. C, Navy Yard,' Portsmouth. 

Chaplain. 
Rev. ALFRED LANGDON ELWYN, Portsmouth. 



Board of Managers. 

SAMUEL S. GREEN. Chairman, 

THOMAS E. O. MARVIN, 

HARRY BOUTON CILLEY, 

ALEXANDER HAMILTON CAMPBELL, 

STEPHEN DECATUR, 

Rev. ALFRED LANGDON ELWYN, 

MARCUS M. COLLIS. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

Rev. HENRY E. HOVEY, 
STEPHEN DECATUR, 
Rev. ALFRED LANGDON ELWYN, 
HARRY BOUTON CILLEY, 
THOMAS E. O. MARVIN. 

Alternates. 

SAMUEL STIMPSON GREEN, 
HENRY AUGUSTUS YEATON, 
MARCUS MORTON COLLIS. 



Total Membership, 29 

66 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 



STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA. 

iNSTiiTTTED October 34, 1893. Organized November 21, 1893. 
Incorporated under the Laws of the State of North Carolina, January 8, 189'*. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 
Hon. ELIAS CARR, Old Sparta. 

Vice-President. 

PETER EVANS HINES, Raleigh. 

Secretary. 

MARSHALL DeLANCEY HAYWOOD, Raleigh. 

Registrar. 

Prof. D. H. HILL, Raleigh. 

Treasurer. 

HERBERT WORTH JACKSON, Raleigh. 

Chaplain. 

Rev. ROBERT BRENT DRANE, D.D., Edenton 

Board of Managers. 

SAMUEL A'COURT ASHE, Chairman. 
THE OFFICERS, ex- officio, 
ALEXANDER QUARLES HOLLADAY, 
THOMAS STEPHEN KENAN, 
GRAHAM DAVES, 
GEORGE BRADBURN CURTIS, 
HERBERT BEMERTON BATTLE, 
BOSWORTH CLIFTON BECKWITH, 
COLLIER COBB, 
HERIOT CLARKSON, 
PETER EVANS HINES, M. D. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

ELiAS CARR, GRAHAM DAVES, 

JAMES DODGE GLENN, GEORGE BRADBURN CURTIS, 

ALEXANDER BOYD ANDREWS, Jr. 

Alternates. 

COLLIER COBB. 

MARSHALL DeLANCEY HAYWOOD, 

HERIOT CLARKSON, 

GEORGE SUMTER POWELL, 

WILLIAM KEARNEY CARR. 



Total Membership, - - - - - - _ - 3^. 

67 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THS 

STATE OF ILLINOIS. 

Instituted December 4, 1893. 
Incorporated undkr the Laws op the State of Illinois, January 13, 1894. 



OFFICERS. 

P?^esident. 

HORACE KENT TENNEY, 819, 205 La Salle Street, Chicago. 

Vice-President. 

JOHN CROCKER FOOTE, Belvidere, 111. 

Second Vice- President. 

ALBERT CRANE BARNES, Criminal Court Building, Chicago. 

Third Vice-President. 
ROBERT PATTERSON BENEDICT, 19 Wabash Avenue, Chicago. 

Secretary. 

FRANK KIMBALL ROOT, 307 Wabash Avenue, Chicago. 

Assistant Secretary. 

EDWARD FROTHINGHAM WYMAN, 170 Lake Street. Chicago. 

Treasurer. 
HARRISON KELLY, 10, 99 Randolph Street, Cliicago. 
Registrar. 
CHARLES THOMSON ATKINSON, 195 Monroe Street, Chicago. 

Chaplain. 

Rt. Rev. CHARLES REUBEN HALE, Cairo, 111. 

Historian. 

JAMES CONRAD CLARK, 37 Wabash Avenue, Chicago. 



Board of Managers. 
HENRY WALBRIDGE DUDLEY, Rev. WALTER DELAFIELD, 
JOHN WHIPPLE HILL, FRANK RHEES SEELYE, 

CHARLES CROMWELL, GEORGE MAYHEW MOULTON, 

JAMES W. D. KELLEY, MILO LESTER COFFEEN, 

WILLIAM BENEZET BOGERT. 



Deleqates to the General Society. 

HORACE KENT TENNEY, GEORGE MULHOLLEN LYON, 

GEORGE SAMUEL MARSH, FRANK KIMBALL ROOT, 

GEORGE MAYHEW MOULTON. 

Alternates. 
FRANK RHEES SEELYE, CHARLES THOMSON ATKINSON, 

WALTER CHANNING WYMAN, THOMAS FLOYD-JONES, 
WILLIAM BENEZET BOGERT. 



Total Membership, - i66 

68 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTIO;N 

IN THE 

STATE OF MISSOURI. 

Instituted February 32, 1894. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 
Rt. Rev. DANIEL SYLVESTER TUTTLE, D. D., S. T. D., St. Louis, 

Vice-Presiden t. 
Hon. henry HITCHCOCK, St. Louis. 

Second Vice-President. 
ALFRED LEIGHTON HOWE, Kansas City. 

Third Vice-President. 

Hon. AMOS MADDEN THAYER, St. Louis. 

Secretary. 

HENRY CADLE, Bethany. 

Assistant Secretary. 

EWING McGREADY SLOAN, St. Louis. 

Registrar. 

THOMAS JAMES, Kansas City. 

Treasurer. 

HENRY PURKITT WYMAN, St. Louis. 

Chaj^ilain. 

Rev. MICHAEL BURNHAM, D. D., St. Louis. 

Historian. 

Pbof. CALVIN MILTON WOODWARD, Ph. D., St. Louis. 

Marshal. 

NORRIS BRADFORD GREGG, St. Louis. 



Board of Managers. 
Rt. Rev. DANIEL SYLVESTER TUTTLE, WILLIAM BROWN DODDRIDGE, 
Hon. henry HITCHCOCK, GEORGE ARNOLD BAKER, 

HENRY CADLE, WILLIAM BREWER DEAN, 

WALLACE DELAFIELD, WILLIAM GODDIN BOYD, 

GEORGE AMOS NEWCOMB, ALFRED LEE SHAPLEIGH, 

JAMES LAWRENCE BLAIR, Hon. ISRAEL PUTNAM DANA, 

TRUMAN AUGUSTUS POST, WILLIAM BARTON, 

STOUGHTON WALKER. 

Delegates to the General Society. 

HENRY CADLE, ORLANDO POWERS BLOSS, 

Hon. JOHN HENRY TERRY, INNES HOPKINS, 

MILTON TOOTLE, Jr. 

Alternates. 

Hon. ELMER BRAGG ADAMS, Hon. CHAUNCEY FORWOOD SHULTZ, 

Hon. JOHN McKEE WOOD, WILLIAM PERRINE VOORHEES, 

AI EDGAR ASBURY. 



Total Membership, 351 

69 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THB 

STATE OF ALABAMA. 

Instituted April 16, 1894. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 
JAMES EDWARD WEBB. Birmingham. 

Vice-President. 
Dr. frank PRINCE, Bessemer. 

Second Vice-President. 
ROBERT DANIEL JOHNSTON, Birmingham. 

Secretary. 
THOMAS McADORY OWEN, Birmingham. 

Assistant Secretary. 
JOHN C. FORNEY, Chalifoux Building, Birmingham. 

Treasurer. 
JESSE KILGORE BROCKMAN, Birmingham. 

Registrar and Historian. 
JOHN C. FORNEY, Chalifoux Building, Birmingham. 

Surgeon. 
Dr. E. p. LACEY, Bessemer. 

Chaplain. 
Dr. WILLIAM MARMADUKE OWEN, Bessemer. 



Board of Managers. 

JAMES E. WEBB, Chairman. 
WILLIAM HENRY JOHNSTON, M. D., THOMAS M. OWEN, 
ANDREW CHARLES MOORE, DR. FRANK PRINCE, 

F. W. MOSBY. Dr. WILLIAM M. OWEN, 

JAMES F. JOHNSTON, WILLIAM P. G. HARDING, 

E. R. DU MONT, JESSE K. BROCKMAN. 



Delegates to the Gknral Society. 

F. E. SPOTTSWOOD, WIRT WEBB, 

THOMAS McADORY OWEN, JOSEPH F. JOHNSTON, 
JOHN C. FORNEY. 

Alternates. 
E. R. DU MONT, JAMES E. WEBB, 

A. B. DU MONT, R. D. JOHNSTON, 

ANDREW^ CHARLES MOORE. 



Total Membership, 29 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA. 

Instituted April 19, 1894. 
Incorporated under thk Laws of the State of West Virginia, Mat 7, 1894. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

JOHN MARSHALL HAGANS, Morgantown. 

Vice-President. 
C. W. BROCKUNIER, Wheeling. 
Secretai^. 
ALEXANDER UPDEGRAFF, Wheeling. 

Treasurer. 
CHARLES MATTHEW HART, Clarksburg. 

Registrar and Historian. 
JOHN GEORGE GITTINGS, Clarksburg. 

Chaplain. 
Dr. J. L. LOVY, Wheeling. 



Board of Managers. 

Hon. ALFRED CALDWELL, 
JOSEPH F. PAULL, 
B. WALKER PETERSON, 
SAMUEL HUGH BROCKUNIER, 
Dr. R. M. BAIRD. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

JOHN MARSHALL HAGANS, 
WILLIAM S. EDWARDS, 
JOHN BASSEL, 
CHARLES M. HART, 
RANDOLPH STALNAKER. 



Alternates. 

Dr. R. M. BAIRD. 

SAMUEL HUGH BROCKUNIER, 

S. B. BROWN, 

O. S. McKINNEY. 



Total Membership, 46 

71 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF FLORIDA. 

Organized April, 1894. 

OFFICERS. 

President.' 

GEORGE TROUP MAXWELL, M. D., Jacksonville. 

First Vice-President. 

SAMUEL C. THOMPSON, Jacksonville. 

Second Vice-President. 

Hon. GEORGE WASHINGTON WYLLY, Fort Reed. 

Secretary. 

CLARENCE SHERMAN HAMMATT, Jacksonville. 

Assistant Secretary. 

ARCHIBALD HAGUE, Sr., Hague. 

Ti^easurer. 

E. F. GILBERT, Jacksonville. 

Registrar. 

CHARLES D. MILLER, Peoria. 

Surgeon. 

Dr. J. N. D. CLOUD, Newmansville. 

Chaplain. 

Rev. JOHN B. DAVIS, Newmansville. 

Judge Advocate. 

BAYLIS J. EARL, Earlton. 

Marshal. 
BAYLIS J. EARL, Earlton. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

Dr. GEORGE TROUP MAXWELL, 

Hon. G. W. WYLLY, 

SAMUEL C. THOMPSON, 

E. F. GILBERT, 

CLARENCE SHERMAN HAMMATT. 



Alternates. 

ARCHIBALD HAGUE, Sr., 
CHARLES D. MILLER, 
J. C. GETZEN, 
Dr. J. N. D. CLOUD, 
JAMES BACON WAY. 

Total Membership, 24 

72 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF TENNESSEE. 

Organized November 24, 1894. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

Col. J. VAN DEVENTER, Knoxville. 

Vice-Pres id en t. 

W. W. WOODRUFF, Knoxville. 

Secretary. 

EDWARD R. H. MAYNARD, KnoxviUe. 

Registrar. 

HENRY HUDSON. Knoxville. 

Treasurer. 

HARPER L. CHAMBERLAIN, Knoxville. 

Chaplain, 

Rev. J. H. FRAZEE, Knoxville. 



Board op Managers. 

JOSHUA W. CALDWELL, 
HARPER L. CHAMBERLAIN, 
GEORGE W. HENDERSON, 
Rev. JOHN H. FRAZEE, 
M. L. ROSS, 

EDWARD R. H. MAYNARD, 
HORACE VAN DEVENTER, 
J. VAN DEVENTER, 
W. W. WOODRUFF. 

Delegates to the General Society. 

C. H. HUDSON, 

Col. J. VAN DEVENTER, 

W. P. CHAMBERLAIN, 

O. P. TEMPLE, 

Capt. GEORGE LeROY BROWN. 



Total Membership, 23 

73 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Instituted September 3, 1894 ; Organized December 14, 1894 ; 
Incorporated December 10, 1896. 

OFFICERS. 

President. 
C. S. GADSDEN, Charleston. 

Vice-President. 
T. PINCKNEY LOWNDES, Charleston. 

Secretary. 
GUSTAVUS M. PINCKNEY, Charleston. 

Treasurer. 
C. C. OLNEY, Charleston. 

Assistant Treasurer. 
W. M. FITCH, Charleston, S. C. 

Registrar. 
JAMES G. HOLMES, Charleston, S. C. 

Chaplain. 
Rev. JOHN JOHNSON, 53 Church Street, Charleston. 



Board of Managers. 

THE OFFICERS, ex officio, ROBERT L. DARGAN, 

ZIMMERMAN DAVIS, Chairman, WILLIAM S. HASTIE, 

Gen. GEORGE BRATTON, WILLIAM H. PARKER, Jr. 

H. H. FICKEN, EDWARD ANDERSON, 

JOHN GRIMBALL, FRANK E. TAYLOR. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

T. PINCKNEY LOWNDES, G. M. PINCKNEY, 

HAWKINS K. JENKINS, Rev. JOHN JOHNSON, 

WILLIAM HY. PARKER, Jr. 



Alternates. 

S. P. RAVENEL, G. W. OLNEY, 

TALBOT OLYPHANT, Z. DAVIS, 

WILLIAM S. HASTIE. 

Total Membership, ------- 62 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF KENTUCKY. 

Organized January 26, 1895, 
Incorporated under the Laws op the State of Kentucky, February 9, 1895. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

LUCAS BRODHEAD, Spring Station. 

Vice-President, 
JOHN T. SHELBY, Lexington. 

Secretary, 

Prof. WILBUR R. SMITH, Lexington. 

Treastirer, 

JAMES TODD, Lexington. 

Registrar. 

BUTLER SOUTHGATE, Lexington. 

Historian. 

LESLIE COMBS, Lexington. 

Chaplain. 

Rev. W. S. FULTON, D. D., Lexington. 



Board of Managers. 

Major H. B. McCLELLAN, T. R. MORGAN, 

JOHN T. SHELBY, LESLIE COMBS, 

Judge O. S. TENNY, JAMES DUANE LIVINGSTON, 

LOUIS DES GOGNETS, J. A. CURRY. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

JAMES DUANE LIVINGSTON, LESLIE COMBS, 
WILBUR R. SMITH, J. A. CURRY, 

LUCAS BRODHEAD. 

Alternates. 

Rev. W. S. FULTON, JOHN T. SHELBY, 

Major H. B. McCLELLAN, JAMES A. TODD, 

T. R. MORGAN. 



Total Membership, 20 

75 



SO.\S OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF MONTANA. 

Organized February 22, 1895. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 
CHARLES H. BENTON, Great Falls. 

First Vice President. 
CHARLES E. CONRAD, Kalispell. 

Second Vice-President. 
WINTHROP RAYMOND, Sheridan. 

Secj'etary. 
ERBERT HUGHES MATTESON, Great Falls. 

Historian. 
CHARLES H. ROBINSON, Great Falls. 

Registrar. 
HOWARD CROSBY, Great Falls. 

Treasu7'er. 
JAMES MONTGOMERY BURLINGAME, Great Falls. 

CJiaplain. 
RICHARD S. CLARK, Truly. 



Board of Managers. 

JOHN H. FAIRFIELD, W. E. CHAMBERLAIN, 

ARTHUR E. DICKERMAN. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

A. J. BENNETT, W. F. DARLINGTON, 

Colonel A. S. BURT, W. L. BROWN, 

W. G. CONRAD. 

Alternates. 

CHARLES E. CONRAD, F. D. BROWN, 

RICHARD CLARK, W. RAYMOND. 



Total Membership, 38 

76 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF TEXAS. 

Organized March 12, 1895. 
Incorporated April 19, 1895. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 
H. M. AUBREY, San Antonio. 

Vice-President. 
W. J. BATTLE, Austin. 

Secretary. 
G. STUART SIMONS, San Antonio. 

Treasurer. 
G. STUART SIMONS, San Antonio. 

Registrar. 
Dr. F. L. paschal. San Antonio. 

Chaplain. 



Board of Managers. 

W. J. BATTLE, 
H. M. AUBREY, 
G. S. SIMONS, 
HENRY TERRELL, 
S. M. FINLEY, 
Dr. F. L. paschal, 
VV. P. FINLEY, 
JOHN A. GREEN, Jr., 
C. L. HARWOOD. 

Delegates to the General Society. 

(To be appointed.) 

Total Membership, jg 

77 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 



STATE OF WASHINGTON. 

Organized March 26, 1895. 
Inx'ORPOrated under the Latvs of State of Washington. March 26, 1895 



OFFICERS. 

President. 
JOSIAH COLLINS, Seattle. 

Vice-President. 
Lieutenant JOHN LEICESTER SEHON, U. S. A., Vancouver Barracks. 

Secretary. 
CHARLES TALLMADGE CONOVER, Seattle. 

Treasurer. 
ROBERT CARROLL CALLAHAN, Seattle. 

Registrar. 
GEORGE HYDE PRESTON, Seattle. 

Chaplain. 

Right Reverend WILLIAM MORRIS BARKER, D. D., 

Bishop of Olympia, Tacoma. 

Historian. 
ROBERT BROOKE ALBERTSON, Seattle. 



Board of Managers. 
THE AFOREGOING OFFICERS, ex officio, with 
GEORGE KIRBY CORYELL, 
BENJAMIN HAZELTINE. 

Delegates to the General Society. 

(To be appointed.) 



Total Membership, 19 

78 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF VIRGINIA. 

Organized June 7, 1895. 



OFFICERS. 

P7'esident. 

Hon. JAMES ALSTON CABELL, Richmond. 

First Vice-President. 

Colonel FRANCIS L. SMITH, Alexandria. 

Second Vice-President. 
Dr. W. C. N. RANDOLPH, CharlottesTille. 

Secretary. 

Hon. R. T. W. duke, Jr., Charlottesville. 

Registrar. 

WILLIAM CHASE MORTON, Richmond. 

Treastrrer. 

ROBERT LANCASTER WILLIAMS, Richmond. 

Historian. 

J. R. V. DANIEL, Richmond. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

Hon. R. T. W. duke, Jr., 
JOHN SKELTON WILLIAMS, 
Hon. JAMES ALSTON CABELL, 
WILLIS 8. SMITH, 
Colonel FRANCIS L. SMITH. 

Alternates. 

ROBERT LANCASTER WILLIAMS, 
WILLIAM CHASE MORTON. 
CHARLES WASHINGTON COLEMAN, 
Hon. LYON G. TYLER, 
CHARLES R. ROBINS, M. D. 



Total Membership, . . . - - - 48 

79 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF iMICHIGAN. 

Organized April 17, 1890. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 
JOHN WALTER BE4RDSLEE, D. D.. Holland. 

Vice-President. 
HORATIO SEYMOUR, Marquette. 

Secretary. 
FRANK DICKINSON HADDOCK, Holland. 

Treasurer. 
ROBERT WILKINS MERRILL, Grand Rapids. 

Historian. 
HENRY DENISON POST, Holland. 

Registrar. 
LAURENS W. WOLCOTT, Grand Rapids. 

Chaplain. 
JOSEPH LEONARD DANIELS, D. D., Olivet. 

Delegates to the General Society. 

Hon. HENRY W. SEYMOUR, 
JOHN C. POST, 
HENRY PERKINS, 
DAVID W. KENDALL, 
JOSEPH SILL. 

Alternates. 

Ex Lieut. -Gov. HENRY H. HOLT, 
JOSEPH L. DANIELS, 
JOHN W. BEARDSLEE, D. D., 
WALTER E. C. WRIGHT, D. D., 
HOYT G. POST. 



Total Membership, 21 

80 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF RHODE ISLAND 

Instituted September 26, 1896. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 
WILLIAM WATTS SHERMAN, Newport. 

First Vice-President. 
Colonel SAMUEL P. COLT, Bristol. 

Second Vice-President. 
Hon. henry L. GREENE, Warwick. 

Secretary. 
WILLIAM G. WARD, Jr., Newport. 

Treasurer. 
JOHN P. SANBORN, Newport. 

Regi-^trar. 
R. H. TILLEY, Newport. 

Historian. 
Dk. H. R. STORER, Newport. 



Board of Managers. 

THE OFFICERS, ex-officio. 
F. P. GARRETTSON, O. H. P. BELMONT, 

FREDERICK TOMPKINS, PERRY TIFFANY, 

CHARLES H. RUSSELL, WILLIAM LOVIE TILLEY, 

EDWARD W. HIGBEE, JOSHUA WILBOR, 

DAVID STEVENS. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

WILLIAM WATTS SHERMAN, JOHN P. SANBORN, 

Colonel SAMUEL P. COLT, HENRY L. GREENE, 

FREDERICK TOMPKINS. 

Alternates. 

R. H. TILLEY, WILLIAM G. WARD, Jr. 

E. AV. HIGBEE, PERRY TIFFANY, 

CHARLES H. RUSSELL. 



Total Membership, 36 

81 



SONS OF THE REVOLUTION 

IN THE 

STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA, 

Organized February 12, 1897. 



OFFICERS. 

President. 

Rev. F. M. J. CRAFT, Elbow Wooda. 

Vice-President. 
Rev. I. Mcelroy, Fargo. 

Secretary. 
G. H. PHELPS, Fargo. 

Treasurer. 
W. L. STOCKWELL, Grafton. 

Registrar. 
H. C. PLUMLEY, Fargo. 

Chaplain. 
Father CRAFTS, Elbow Woods. 

Historian. 
Rev. I. Mcelroy, Fargo. 



Board of Managers. 

Dr. J. H. JOHNSON, Lisbon. 

W. L. STOCKWELL, Grafton. 

FRED. B. MORRILL. 

E. M. ROBISON. 

Rev. I. Mcelroy, Fargo. 



Delegates to the General Society. 

H. C. PLUMLEY, 

F. B. MORRILL, 

J. H. JOHNSON, M. D. 



Alternates. 

E. M. ROBISON, 
W. L. STOCKWELL, 
G. H. PHELPS. 



Total Membership, 12 

83 



Plan of Union and Constitution 

OF THK 

National Society 

OF THE 

American Revolution. 



The Socie1;y 



'og 



To EDWIN SHEPARD BARRETT, President General 
of the JSfatioiud Societtj of the Sons of the 
American Mevoltitum. 

And JOHN LEE CARROLL, General President of 
the General Society of the Sons of the Revolu- 
tion : — 

The Committees of the Sous of the American Revo- 
lution and the Sons of the Revolution, who were appointed 
by their respective Societies to confer together upon the 
subject of union of the two Societies, beg leave to report 
jointly for the consideration of each Society the result 
of their labors. 

First : They were profoundly impressed by evidences 
of a universal sentiment favoring union reaching them 
from members of both National Societies, as well as with 
the cordiality and harmony inspiring the members of the 
Committees, who approached the difficult and delicate 
task assigned them with great deliberation and with a 
deep sense of responsibility. 

Second: The two Committees met, on the call of 
their respective Chairmen, in a joint conference on basis 
of Union, and after a careful consideration of the Consti- 
tution and Plan of Union of 1893, and proposed charges 
thereto, unanimously decided upon and do now recom- 
mend the adoption of the following Basis of Union: — 



Basis of Union. 

1. The members of the two National Societies shall 
unite in forming the National Society of the American 
Revolution by the adoption of the Constitution herein- 
after following and the election of ofiicers as provided 
therein, at a meeting to be held jointly in the city of 
Cincinnati, Ohio, October 12, 1897. 

2. The General Board of Managers shall designate 
the Colors, Seal and Insignia and direct a rule or rules 
for wearing Insignia and use of Colors. 

3. The Insignia of either or both existing Societies 
may be worn on ceremonial occasions with the Insignia 
of the United Society or alone. 

4. The State Societies of both existing Societies shall 
report the adoption of a Constitution in accordance with 
the new National Constitution, to the Secretary General 
promptly on that action being taken, or united State 
organization affected. 

5. The Treasurer General of each existing National 
Society shall turn over to the new Treasurer General 
when he shall be duly qualified, all balances in their 
respective treasuries, taking his vouchers therefor. 

6. The Registrars General of the two existing Soci- 
eties shall turn over all records and documents in their 
respective offices to the new Registrar General when 
he shall have been duly ([ualified, taking his voucher 
therefor. 

7. The Constitution recommended herein shall be- 
come operative by virtue of its ratification by the dele- 
gates of a majority of the States of each National Society 
voting at the joint meeting of the two National Societies 
contemplated. 



Constitution 

OF THE 

National Society of the American 
Revolution. 



PREAMBLE. 



We, the lineal descendants of Revolutionary Sires, in- 
spired by the heroic deeds of a liberty-loving ancestry, in 
order to form a more perfect union of patriotic men, to 
foster true patriotism and love of country: to cherish and 
maintain the institutions of American freedom, do ordain 
this Constitution. 



ARTICLE I. 

The name of the Society shall be "The Society of 
THE American Revolution." 

ARTICLE II. 

The objects of this society are, to perpetuate the 
memory of the men who, in the military, naval or civil 
service of the Colonies and of the Continental Congress; 
by their acts or counsel, achieved the Independence of 
this country; to further proper celebrations of the anni- 

3 



versaries of the birthday of Washington, and of prominent 
events connected with the War of the Revolution; to 
collect, publish and secure for preservation the rolls, 
records and other documents relating to that period ; to 
mark by appropriate monuments historic places ; to im- 
press upon the present and future generations the 
patriotic spirit which actuated our ancestors in estab- 
lishing the Republic of the United States, and to 
promote the feeling of friendship among its members. 

ARTICLE III. 

Section 1 . Any male person above the age of twenty- 
one years, of good character, and a lineal descendant of 
an ancestor who shall be proven by official record or 
other equivalent evidence to have served as a mili- 
tary, naval, or marine officer ; soldier, sailor, or marine, 
in actual service, under the authority of any of the thir- 
teen Colonies or States, of the Continental Congress, or 
Vermont, or a lineal descendant of one who signed the 
Declaration of Independence, or of one who, as a member 
of the Continental Congress, or of the Congress of any 
of the Colonies or States, or as an official appointed by 
or under the authority of any such legislative bodies, 
actually assisted in the establishment of American In- 
dependence by overt acts of resistance to the authority of 
Great Britain during the War of the American Revolu- 
tion, prior to the declaration of peace, in 1783, shall 
be eligible to membership in the Society. 

Provided, That when the claim of eligibility is based 
on the service of an ancestor in the "minute men" or 
"militia," it must be satisfactorily shown that such an- 
cestor was actually called into the service of one of the 

4 



thirteen original States, or Vermont, or United States, 
and performed military duties; and 

Provided further; That when the claim of eligibility 
is based on the service of an ancestor as a "sailor" or 
" marine,'' it must in like manner be shown that such 
service was other than shore duty and regularly per- 
formed in the Continental Navy, or the Navy of one of 
the original thirteen States, or Vermout, or on an armed 
vessel, other than a merchant ship, which sailed under 
letters of marque and reprisal, and that such ancestor of 
the applicant was duly enrolled in the ship's company, 
either as an officer, seaman, or otherwise than as a pas- 
senger ; and 

Provided further, That v/hen the claim of eligibility 
is based on the service of an ancestor as an "official," 
such service must have been performed in the civil 
service of the United States, or of one of the thirteen 
original States, or Vermont, and must have been suffi- 
ciently important in character to have rendered the offi- 
cial liable to arrest and imprisonment, the same as a 
combatant, if captured by the enemy. 

In the construction of this article, the Volunteer 
Aides-de-Camp of General Officers in the Continental 
Service, who were duly announced as such and who 
actually served in the field during a campaign, shall be 
comprehended as having performed qualifying service. 
■ No service of an ancestor shall be deemed as qualify- 
ing service for membership in "The Society of 
American Revolution where such ancestor, after assist- 
ing in the cause of American Independence, shall have 
subsequently either adhered to the enemy, or failed 

5 



to maintain an honorable record throughout the War of 
the Revolution. 

No person shall be admitted unless ho be eligible under 
one of the provisions of this article, nor unless he be of 
good moral character and be judged worthy of becoming 
a member. 

Section 2. That every member of the Society of 
the Sons of the Revolution and of the Society of the 
Sons of the American Revolution in good standing at 
the time of the adoption of this constitution, who has 
been admitted to either of these societies under their 
respective constitutions and the by-laws of their respec- 
tive National Societies, shall be enrolled as a member 
of this Society. 

Section 3. Applications for membership shall be 
made to any State Society, in duplicate, upon blank 
forms prescribed by the General Board of Managers, and 
shall in each case set forth the name, occupation and 
residence of the applicant, his line of descent, and the 
name, residence and services of his ancestor or ancestors 
in the Revolution, from whom he derives eligibility. 
The applicant shall make oath or affirmation that the 
statements of his application are true, to the best of his 
knowledge and belief. Upon the approval of an appli- 
cation by the State Society, to which it is made, one 
copy shall be transmitted to the Registrar General of 
the National Society, who shall examine the same and 
upon approval notify the Secretary of the State Society. 
If satislied that the application is not properly made out, 
he shall return it for correction. No election of a new 



member shall be valid, unless his eligibility shall be ap- 
proved by the Registrar General. 

ARTICLE IV. 

NATIONAT, AND STATE SOCIETIES. 

Section 1. The National Society shall embrace all 
the members of the State Societies now existing or 
which may hereafter be established under this Consti- 
tution. 

Section 2. Whenever in any State or Territory, in 
which a State Society does not exist, or in which a State 
Society has become 'inactive or failed for two years to 
pay its annual dues to the National Society, fifteen or 
more persons duly qualified for membership in this 
Society may associate themselves as a State Society of 
the War for American Independence, and organize in 
accordance with this Constitution ; they may be admitted 
by the General Board of Managers of the National Society 

as "The Society of the American Revolution, and 

shall thereafter have exclusive local jurisdiction in the 
State or Territory, or in the District in which they 
are organized, subject to the provisions of this Consti- 
tution ; but this provision shall not be construed so 
as to exclude the admission of members living in other 
States. 

Section 3, Each State Society shall judge of the 
qualifications of its members and of those proposed for 
membership, subject to the provisions of this Constitution, 

7 



and shall regulate all matters pertaining to its own 
affairs. It shall have authority to establish local chap- 
ters within its own jurisdiction and to endow the chapters 
with such power as it may deem proper, not inconsistent' 
with this Constitution. It shall have authority, after 
due notice and impartial trial, to expel any member, who, 
by conduct uubecoming a gentleman, shall render him- 
self unworthy to remain a member of the Society. 

Section. 4. Each State Society shall submit to the 
Annual Congress of the National Society a report-, setting 
forth by name, the additions, transfers and deaths, and 
any other changes in the membership and progress of 
the State Society during the preceding year, and make 
such suggestions, as it shall deem proper, for the pro- 
motion of the objects of the whole Society. 

Section 5. Whenever a member, in good standing 
in his Society, changes his residence from the jurisdiction 
of the State Society of which he is a member, to that of 
another, he shall be entitled, if he so elects, to a certifi- 
cate of honorable demission from his own State Society, 
in order that he may be transferred to the State Society 
to whose jurisdiction he has changed Jiis residence ; pro- 
vided, that his membership shall continue in the former 
until he shall have been elected a member of the latter. 
Each State Society shall, however, retain full control of 
the admission of members by transfer. 

Section 6. Wherever the word "State" occurs in 
this Constitution, it shall be held to include within its 
meaning the District of Columbia and the Territories of 
the United States. 



Section 7. A Society may be formed in any foreign 
country by fifteen or more persons wlio are eligible to 
membership under this Constitution, which shall bear the 
same relation to the National Society as a State Society, 
subject to the provisions of this Constitution. 

ARTICLE V. 

OFFICERS AND MANAGERS. 

Section 1. The General Officers of the National 
Society shall be. President General, five Vice Presidents 
General, Secretary General, Assistant Secretary Gen- 
eral, Treasurer General, Assistant Treasurer General, 
Registrar General, Assistant Registrar General, Historian 
General, Chancellor General, and Chaplain General, who 
shall be elected by ballot by a vote of the majority of 
the members present at the annual meeting of the Con- 
gress of the National Society and shall hold office for 
one year and until their successors shall be elected. 

Section 2. The General Officers shall coustitute the 
General Board of Managers of the National Society, 
which Board shall have authority to adopt and promul- 
gate the By-Laws of the National Society, to prescribe 
the duties of the General Officers, to provide the seal, to 
designate and make regulations for the issue of the in- 
signia, and to transact the general business of the National 
Society during the intervals between the sessions of the 
Congress. Meetings of the General Board may be 
held, after not less than ten days' notice, at the call 
of the President General, or, in case of his absence 
or inability, at the call of the Senior Vice-President Gen- 
eral, certified by the Secretary General. Meetings shall 

9 



be called at the request of seven members. At all such 
meetings, seven shall constitute a quorum. 

Section 3. An Executive Committee of seven, of 
whom the President General shall be the Chairman, may 
be elected by the Board of Managers, which Committee 
shall, in the interim between the meetings of the Board, 
transact such business as shall be delegated to it by the" 
Board of Managers. 

ARTICLE VI. 

DUES. 

Each State Society shall pay annually to the Treas- 
urer General, to defray the expenses of the National 
Society, twenty-five cents lor each active member thereof. 
All such dues shall be paid on or before the first day of 
April in each year for the ensuing year, in order to 
secure representation in the meetings of the National 
Society. 

ARTICLE VII. 

MEETINGS AND ELECTIONS. 

Section I. The annual meeting of the National 
Society for the election of the General Officers and for 
transaction of business, shall be held on the 19th day of 
April of each year, unless the same falls on Sunday, when 
it shall be held on the 20th. The time, hour and place of 
such meeting shall be designated by the Board of Mana- 
gers. 

Section 2. Special meetings of the Congress may 
be called by the President General, and shall be called 
by him when directed so to do by the Board of Managers, 
or whenever requested in writing so to do hj -at least 

JO 



three State Societies, on giving thirty days' notice, speci- 
fying the time and place of such meetings and the busi- 
ness to be transacted. 

Section 3. The following shall be members of all 
such annual or special meetings of the Congress and 
shall be entitled to vote therein : 

(1 .)• All the officers and ex- Presidents General of the 
National Society. 

(2.) The President and Secretary of each State 
Society as delegates at large. 

(3.) One delegate from each State Society for each 
one hundred members of the Society within a State, and 
for a fraction of fifty members or over. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

AMENDMENTS. 

This Constitution may be altered or iimended at any 
meeting of the National Society, when the same shall 
have been recommended by a State Society. A notice 
of the proposed amecdment or alteration shall be sent 
by the Secretary General to the President of each 
Society sixty days in advance of such meeting. An 
affirmative vote of two-thirds of the States present shall 
be necessary for their adoption. 

ARTICLE IX. 

This Constitution shall take effect when ratified by a 
majority of the States of each National Society voting 
In Joint Meeting. 



11 



We would respectfully recommend that in the event 
of the adoption of our report by the two National bodies 
to whom it is submitted, that they immediately meet to- 
gether in joint session for the purpose of completing the 
organization herein provided for. 

For the Sons of the Revolution: For the Sons of the American 

ACHILLES HENRY PUGH, Revolution: 

Chairman, JAMES M. RICHARDSON, 



TIMOTHY L. WOODRUFF, 
HORACE KENT TENNEY, 
GAILLARD HUNT, 



Chairman, 
GEORGE H. SHIELDS, 
NATHAN WARREN, 
EBENEZER J. HILL, 
SAMUEL EBERLY GROSS. 



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LbdL '10 



